PESHAWAR: Senior lawyer and provincial chief of Insaf Lawyers Forum Qazi Mohammad Anwar on Tuesday said that they had filed appeals with Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch of Pakistan Army for party workers, who were recently convicted by military courts for involvement in the May 9, 2023, violent protests in the province. He told journalists on the premises of Peshawar High Court that they had received applications from the convicts mostly imprisoned in Peshawar jail for filing appeals before the relevant forum. He said that they had decided that it would be appropriate for convicts to first approach the appellate forum, mentioned in the Army Act, which was chief of army staff through JAG branch. ILF, the legal wing of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, had announced few days ago that it would be extending legal support to the said convicts on the instructions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. ILF provincial chief says most of the convicts imprisoned in Peshawar jail Twenty seven activists of PTI belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been convicted by military courts in connection with attacks on military installations in Mardan, Bannu, Chakdara (Dir Lower), Timergara (Lower Dir) and Peshawar. The rigorous imprisonment awarded to them will last from two years to 10 years. Seven of those convicts, who had been sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment each, were subsequently set free after their sentences were remitted, whereas the remaining 20 have still been imprisoned. Qazi Anwar, who is also member of a three-member Good Governance Committee in KP, said that the committee was dealing with multiple complaints received regarding alleged irregularities related to certain provincial ministers and advisers. He said that the committee summoned the provincial minister for social welfare, Qasim Ali Shah, and the adviser to chief minister on health and sought replies from them till Jan 31. He said that notice was also issued to Zahir Shah and another provincial minister regarding complaints about their ministries. The senior lawyer said that they mostly sought replies and explanation form ministers and advisers on basis of media reports. So far, he said, they had not received any complaint about Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. “The chief minister is also not above the law and if any complaint is received against him the committee will proceed against him,” Mr Anwar said. About differences in the ranks of ILF and recent removal of its provincial secretary general, he said that he was removed as he had used abusive language against him (Qazi Anwar). He said that PTI founder Imran Khan fully empowered him to take decisions about the affairs of ILF in KP. He added that Mr Khan recently told ILF central secretary general that nobody should be interfering in his (Qazi Anwar) work. He also refuted certain reports that Mr Khan’s spouse Bushra Bibi held a meeting with him and asked him to provide information about affairs of the lawyers’ wing. He said that neither he met Bushra Bibi nor she ever interfered in affairs of the forum. He said that his professional career spanning over five decades was evident to all. He added that he never charged fee while pleading cases of poor and orphans. Mr Anwar, who is also former president of Supreme Court Bar Association, said that he never tried to meet Imran Khan when he was a prime minister from 2018 to 2022, but now he firmly stood by him in times of hardships.