PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has strongly reprimanded authorities over the misuse and mismanagement of vehicles held as confiscated property (“maal-e-muqadma”) and has ordered a comprehensive report detailing all such vehicles currently present in police stations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The directive came during a hearing led by a three-member bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Shakeel Ahmad, and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim. During the proceedings, KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel and senior police officials appeared before the court. Justice Hilali questioned the status of a previously requested list of vehicles parked in government warehouses. The Advocate General responded that a list had been submitted, showing 1,119 vehicles currently stored.
However, Justice Hilali expressed dissatisfaction with the report, asking, “What about the vehicles that are not parked, but still being driven? Who is using them?” She noted that many retired police officers still retain official vehicles, and some officers are roaming around in them with tinted windows, raising serious concerns about accountability and misuse.
When asked whether he knew how many vehicles were in active use and who was using them, the Advocate General admitted he did not have that information. This prompted a sharp rebuke from Justice Hilali: “It’s shocking. What exactly is happening under your nose?”
Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim added, “These vehicles were supposed to be auctioned, but instead, they’ve been distributed among officials.” He held Station House Officers (SHOs) responsible for tracking the whereabouts of case property vehicles. In response, the Advocate General argued that SHOs are often powerless to disobey illegal orders from senior officers. But Justice Hilali countered, “SHOs are not as helpless as you claim. They are not bound to follow unlawful orders.”
Justice Hilali further criticised the declining public trust in the police force, saying, “It’s unfortunate that people now feel unsafe in the presence of police. Senior officers using luxury vehicles for raids is disgraceful.” The bench ordered that a detailed report from all police stations in KP be submitted at the next hearing, outlining every vehicle held as case property—whether stored, in use, or unaccounted for. Concluding the session, Justice Hilali remarked: “The era of blind law is over. There must be transparency and accountability in every department.”
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