BHC suspends proceedings in FIR against Mahmood Khan Achakzai

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Thursday suspended all proceedings in a case registered against senior opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai over alleged seditious remarks.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kamran Khan Malakhail and Justice Gul Hassan Tareen passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief, who has sought the quashing of the first information report (FIR).

During the hearing, Chief Justice Malakhail questioned the legal route adopted by the petitioner. He observed that Achakzai is an elected member of the National Assembly and enjoys parliamentary immunity, and said the matter should have been taken up in Parliament. The chief justice also asked why the petitioner had not first approached the relevant trial court before moving the high court.

Achakzai’s counsel then presented arguments on the political and legal grounds of the petition, maintaining that the case had no sound legal basis. The FIR had been lodged on the complaint of an individual. After hearing the initial defence arguments, the bench issued notices to the state and ordered a complete halt to all police and judicial action in the matter until the next hearing.