PESHAWAR: A petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) seeking the recovery of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of Provincial Assembly Abdul Salam Afridi, who was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint in Mardan.
The petition was submitted by his brother, Fazal Qadir, through Advocate Muhammad Inam Yousafzai. The provincial government, secretary home, inspector general of police, regional police officer and district police officer of Mardan have been made respondents in the case.
According to the plea, unidentified armed men arrived in vehicles at a ceremony being held at a hujra in Mardan and forcibly took Abdul Salam Afridi away at gunpoint.
The petitioner accused the police of intentionally delaying the registration of a case. He further claimed that despite requesting authorities to secure CCTV footage related to the incident, no action had been taken.
The petition urged the high court to direct the inspector general of police to ensure the MPA’s immediate recovery, order an impartial investigation and initiate legal proceedings against those responsible.
In a separate incident, PTI alleged that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Housing Minister Dr Amjad Ali was abducted by armed men who forcibly entered his residence on Friday.
In a party statement, PTI said the assailants ransacked the minister’s house, damaged property and took him away against his will.
The alleged abductions were also brought to the attention of the Peshawar High Court during proceedings on 27 petitions involving PTI leaders, including Sohail Afridi, Ali Amin Gandapur and Asad Qaiser, along with several provincial ministers.
A three-member larger bench, headed by Justice Ijaz Anwar, heard the petitions.
During the hearing, a lawyer informed the court that unidentified individuals had taken Dr Amjad Ali away during the night.
“The situation has once again deteriorated, and unidentified persons are picking up our members,” the counsel told the court.
The lawyer further alleged that a PTI MPA had been abducted in Mardan the previous day, while a provincial minister from Swat had also been taken away.
