Court Approves Petitions of Two Afghan Journalists and Muhammad Naveed Omari, Directs Interior Ministry to Decide Cases Within Two Months

PESHAWAR (By Khalid Khan): The Peshawar High Court has reserved its decision in cases filed by five Afghan nationals seeking permission for temporary stay in Pakistan, while allowing the petitions of two Afghan journalists and Muhammad Naveed Omari and directing the Ministry of Interior to decide their cases within two months.

The hearing was conducted by a two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad and Justice Kamran Hayat.

The petitioners included Afghan journalists, a former judge of the Afghan Supreme Court, two former generals of the Afghan National Army, individuals who had worked with the US military, and a member of a charitable organization.

Counsel for the petitioners told the court that their clients faced serious threats to their lives following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. They also informed the court that the homes of some petitioners had been demolished.

The lawyers requested that their clients be permitted to remain temporarily in Pakistan until decisions were made on asylum applications they had filed in various countries.

In response to a query from the court, counsel stated that letters of recommendation had been issued only to the Afghan journalists.

After hearing arguments from all parties, the court reserved its decision on the petitions of five applicants.

However, the court accepted the petitions of two Afghan journalists and Muhammad Naveed Omari and forwarded their cases to the Ministry of Interior.

The court directed the Ministry of Interior to make a decision on the cases within two months.