In second letter to KP police chief, assembly speaker Swati seeks details of 'detained' lawmakers, ministers

In second letter to KP police chief, assembly speaker Swati seeks details of 'detained' lawmakers, ministers.

Key points

• Umer Farooq Published September 27, 2026 Updated September 27, 2026 11: 56pm.
• Umer Farooq is a Peshawar-based reporter for Dawn with 17 years of experience covering security, governance, and politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has taken exception to the move and questioned the speaker's consent requirement.
• Swati has already asked the provincial inspector general of police, Zulfiqar Hameed, to seek his approval before arresting any sitting lawmaker.
• According to The speaker, the law did not place an MPA above the law and that an accused member remained subject to investigation, prosecution and judicial process.

Umer Farooq Published September 27, 2026 Updated September 27, 2026 11: 56pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati has sought details from police of provincial cabinet members and lawmakers who have been "detained or arrested", it emerged on Sunday.

Notably, the development comes after reports of the detention of a number of PTI members and supporters, including party founder's sisters and provincial ministers, ahead of a protest that has now been postponed to Oct 4.

Notably, a second letter from Sept 25. It swati shared on his X account on Sunday, cited Articles 66 and 67 read with Article 127 of the Constitution, the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules, 2025, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026.

In practice, the letter from the KP Assembly secretariat to the provincial police chief stated that Swati, being the custodian of the house, had directed the secretariat to obtain information regarding any member of the KP Assembly, minister, adviser, special assistant to the chief minister and parliamentary secretary. This person had been arrested or detained or whose residence had been subjected to an "attack, search or similar action by any law enforcement agency".

In practice, the secretariat asked for a "complete report and FIRs of such incidents occurred (including the enclosed list) during the last two weeks" to be submitted to it, along with the record of those who have filed a complaint of such incidents at police stations.

Meanwhile, the first letter to the police chief stated: "When a member has to be arrested on a criminal charge or for a criminal offence or has to be detained under an executive order, the magistrate or the executive authority, as the case may be, shall seek prior permission of the speaker, indicating the reasons for the arrest or detention of the member in the appropriate form set out in the Second Schedule."

According to The letter additionally, where the speaker deemed it necessary in the public interest, he could ask the relevant police officer to submit the police report, as the case might be, to ascertain the facts of the matter.

He wondered in a post on X whether the police would wait for the assembly speaker's permission for arrest even if the lawmaker killed someone.

For context, the interior minister mockingly described it as an "extraordinary version of equality before the law".

In response to Naqvi, Speaker Swati posted on X that his initiative was not something new, and that the privileges the interior minister criticised were enjoyed by himself and his colleagues.

He observed that the privilege in question existed to prevent the executive from silencing elected representatives through police and to enable the assembly to function without fear.

"The speaker's role is only to ensure that no arrest is made with the intent of political revenge or disrupting the House, " he remarked.

Swati wondered why no problems were raised when residents were abducted, laws were passed in the dark and individuals were given immunity, but Naqvi had complaints concerning the laws passed jointly by the treasury and opposition lawmakers in KP.

"Today, we are witnessing a far more serious attack on democracy, without warrants, masked individuals are raiding homes of MNAs, MPAs and PTI leadership and abducting them so as to prevent peaceful protest. Is this democracy? When bullets were fired and massacres took place on November 24, May 9 and May 25, it became clear that this is not democracy but a state run by a few individuals, where the Constitution has been reduced to mere paper, " he insisted.

Notably, the exchange comes against the backdrop of an already heated debate over the new KP Police Act, with the interior ministry arguing that the provincial legislation violates the constitutional framework and weakens the police command structure at a time when KP remains on the frontline of the fight against terrorism.

For context, the KP Police Act 2026 links the police chief's operational, administrative and financial decisions to the approval of the provincial administration or the chief minister for implementation.

During a cabinet session that approved the Police Act, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi stated that if his administration was forcing the local bureaucracy, police, district commissioners or others to do anything wrong, then they should not obey those orders.

Umer Farooq is a Peshawar-based reporter for Dawn with 17 years of experience covering security, governance, and politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He can be discovered on X at @Umer_Pasanni.

Taken together, the developments around in second letter to KP police chief, assembly speaker Swati seeks details point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.