The federal government has been given two months to decide the petitions of more than 100 Afghan musicians who are seeking political asylum in Pakistan after a Peshawar high court halted their forced deportation.

Upon hearing arguments on Friday, a two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) decided the matter and directed security services to refrain from taking any action against them for the next two months. The ruling came during the hearing of the case submitted by Hashmatullah, who claimed they were originally from Afghanistan but fled to Pakistan when the Taliban rule was established because they felt their lives were in danger. The bench was presided over by Justice Waqar Ahmad.

The petitioner claimed they had already lost their means of earning a living and, in Pakistan, they were facing harassment and threats of being forcibly deported. They stated that this goes against human rights and argued that, according to international laws, the Pakistani government cannot forcefully deport them. Mumtaz Ahmad, the petitioner's attorney, and Rahat Ali Naqvi, the federal government's assistant attorney general, were in court.

The bench concluded the petitions and gave the federal government or its designated authorities two months to make a decision regarding the asylum applications of the Afghan artists. The order stated that Afghan musicians are eligible to seek asylum through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The judgment stated that the federal secretary of the interior should provide them temporary protection in Pakistan under a policy framework if their cases are not resolved within two months.