November 15, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah & Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Friday has termed the Action in Aid of Civil Power law a ‘violation of fundamental human rights’ and decided to withdraw its petition in the Supreme Court that backed the legislation, in accordance with a resolution passed by the provincial assembly. The move was approved during a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
In 2019, the PTI government of that time extended the law to the entire province. However, the Peshawar High Court nullified the move, declaring it against basic human rights. The government later obtained a stay order against the verdict from the Supreme Court. In which alongside the KP provincial government, Interior ministry and federal government is also party to it.
KP (Actions in Aid of Civil Power) Ordinance, 2019, is a legislation that has drawn criticism for enabling indefinite detentions in military-run internment centres. The ordinance was promulgated on August 5, 2019, by the then-PTI Governor Shah Farman, when PTI and Imran Khan were in power both in the federal and provincial governments, and were in good books with the establishment. The law provides legal cover for several detention centres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, established during military operations in 2011. The detention centres were initially established though a federal legislation issued in 2011 by the government of Asif Ali Zardari.
After the merger of ex-FATA with KP, the provincial assembly had also passed the KP Continuation of Laws in Erstwhile PATA Act, 2018 and the KP Continuation of Laws in Erstwhile FATA Act, 2019, to maintain the legal continuity for internment centres.
But can the provincial government repeal the ordinance simply by withdrawing its petition for a stay order against the Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict from the Supreme Court, when the federal government and the Interior Ministry are also parties to the case? To understand what the effective way of repealing this regulation is, Voicepk.net spoke to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Aftab Alam and lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Aftab Alam told Voicepk.net that the provincial government has decided, in a cabinet meeting, to withdraw its petition regarding the Action in Aid of Civil Power law from the Supreme Court.
When asked why the KP government do not repeal the regulation through legislation by enacting a repeal act, the law minister said, “There is no need to enact a separate law or pass new legislation when we can repeal it simply by withdrawing the petition from the Supreme Court, as it has already been nullified by the Peshawar High Court.”
He further added, “The government will also form a committee to examine the nitty-gritty of repealing the ordinance and to decide what to do with the 970 detainees in various internment centers established under this regulation.” However, the minister did not provide a timeframe for when the petition would be withdrawn.
Speaking about the effective way to repeal this regulation, lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani—who originally challenged the ordinance in the PHC in 2019—told Voicepk.net, “Right now, the appeals against the PHC verdict are pending in the Supreme Court. But since this is a constitutional matter, the cases will now be transferred to the newly established Constitutional Court. If it hears the cases and dismisses the appeals on merit, then the internment centers and the Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulation will be repealed once and for all.”
He further added that the regulation cannot be repealed merely by the provincial government withdrawing its appeal, as the federal government and the Interior Ministry are also parties to the case. Therefore, it would only be possible if the provincial government, the federal government, and the Interior Ministry all withdraw their appeals.
However, Hussain does not believe that the federal government will withdraw its appeal. In his view, “It is a very effective weapon for the federal government to use against PTI and other political parties, or to achieve other objectives.”