Balochistan National Party (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Senator Raja Nasir Abbas have approached the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), filing separate applications on 14 November 2026 seeking permission to become parties to the case involving the detention of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
In their applications, the two political leaders have asked the court to review and recall its order of 5 November 2026 and to allow them to present arguments and file written submissions in the case, according to the applications.
According to the applications, an emergency and governor’s rule were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October 2026 under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution. The imposition of governor’s rule has been challenged before the Peshawar High Court, the applications said.
The applicants said district administrations in the province carried out raids against PTI leaders and workers and detained them under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order, a provision that allows preventive detention.
The case has its background in proceedings before the Peshawar High Court, which had issued stay orders under Article 199 of the Constitution and directed the release of the detainees. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government appealed against those orders through the Advocate General.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Aamer Farooq heard the appeals on 5 November 2026. According to the record of the proceedings, the bench suspended proceedings in Article 199 petitions pending before the Peshawar High Court that were filed on or after 12 October 2026.
The following day, on 6 November, the administrative committee of the Peshawar High Court directed that such petitions should not be listed for hearing, according to the applications.
The applicants stated that the order of 5 November 2026 directly affects their constitutional rights and those of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They maintained that the petition before the court challenges the constitutional validity of governor’s rule in the province.
Through their applications, Mengal and Abbas are seeking a hearing before the Federal Constitutional Court so that they can place their arguments on record. The applications do not decide the merits of the underlying challenge, which remains before the court.
The development adds two more political voices to a case that touches on the detention of political workers, the scope of preventive detention powers and the constitutional questions arising from the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The court has not yet announced a date for hearing the applications, according to the reports of the filings.
