ISLAMABAD:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has categorically denied the existence of any “Imran Khan Rehai Force,” telling the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) that no such organisation has ever been constituted, notified or operationalised.
In a concise statement submitted through K-P Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, Afridi clarified that the alleged “Imran Khan Rehai Force” has neither been formed nor has it existed at any stage.
The statement further maintained that no armed structure, organisational militancy, coercive framework or paramilitary setup exists or has even been contemplated.
The statement has been submitted in response to a petition filed under Article 175E of the Constitution by Islamabad-based advocate Malik Zaheer Ahmed through Advocate Ali Nawaz Kharal.
The petitioner sought a declaration that the formation or mobilisation of the so-called “Imran Khan Rehai Force” was prohibited. It contended that any attempt to constitute, organise or mobilise such a private force or militia would be illegal, unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 5, 17 and 256 of the Constitution as well as the Private Military Organisations (Abolition and Prohibition) Act, 1973.
On April 1, the FCC sought a response from CM Sohail Afridi within 10 days regarding the alleged formation of the PTI founder’s “release force.”
After nearly three months, the matter has now been fixed for hearing again. A three-member FCC bench headed by Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan is scheduled to resume hearing of the case on July 29.
According to the statement, any previous reference to the term “force,” if interpreted otherwise, has “no legal or factual existence and cannot be relied upon.”
Afridi said the initiative in question is the “Imran Khan Rehai Aman Movement,” which it described as a peaceful, unarmed, voluntary, civic and political movement.
He said its primary objective is to raise public awareness about due process of law and the state’s responsibility to act fairly in initiating criminal prosecutions.
The CM assured the court that the movement is strictly aimed at lawful, democratic and constitutional advocacy for the release of a political leader, without any element of force, militancy or coercion.
Rejecting comparisons made by the petitioner, He stated that equating the movement with alleged historical organisations such as Al-Zulfiqar or elements associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was “totally wrong, factually incorrect, misleading, and legally untenable.”
The CM argued that such comparisons were based on political conjecture, generalisations and historical references that had no nexus with the present facts and could not be used to infer illegality, militancy or any threat to public order.
The statement further said that the responsibilities of the chief minister are confined to public welfare, development, governance of the province and the well-being of its people.
It said policy decisions relating to the formation of any movement, including the “Imran Khan Rehai Aman Movement,” fall within the domain of a political party and its organisational structure, and not within the constitutional or administrative functions of a chief minister acting in his official capacity.
“The respondent, in his capacity as chief minister, neither has the authority nor the mandate to unilaterally constitute any such political or organisational movement in an official capacity. Therefore, the allegation is legally misconceived and factually misplaced,” the statement said.
Raising objections over the maintainability of the petition, the K-P CM argued that the constitutional petition was liable to be dismissed as it was premature, speculative, hypothetical and based solely on conjectures and apprehensions without any actual or imminent violation of rights.
He further contended that the petitioner had failed to establish any locus standi, legal injury or enforceable cause of action against the respondents.
“The petition is politically motivated, misconceived, and based on misrepresentation of facts, intended to distort lawful political activity into an alleged unlawful enterprise,” the statement said.
The CM also objected that the petitioner had not approached the court with clean hands, alleging that statements had been selectively misquoted and mischaracterised.
The statement added that the petition suffered from vagueness, lack of material particulars and absence of evidence, making it liable to dismissal on that ground as well.
The K-P CM requested the FCC to declare that the “Imran Khan Rehai Aman Movement” is a lawful and constitutionally protected civic and political movement under Articles 16, 17 and 19 of the Constitution.
