ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea against the PTI’s planned long march and protest in the federal capital on Sept 27.
The PTI has announced a nationwide protest, including in Islamabad, on Sept 27 to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan and mobilise people for the supremacy of the Constitution.
A citizen, Waqas Ahmed, has challenged the planned move on the grounds that the protest could disrupt routine life, traffic and business activities in the federal capital.
A larger bench, headed by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, is hearing the case. Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Muhammad Asif are also a part of the bench.
On Monday, the bench reserved its verdict on the plea after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief assured the court that no “illegal or unconstitutional activities” would be allowed in connection with the protest.
At one point during the hearing, Chief Justice Dogar recalled that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General (AG) Shah Faisal Utmankhel had stated during the previous hearing that notices had been issued to provincial authorities for judicial assistance.
The chief justice clarified that the court had not issued any notice under Section 27-A of the Civil Procedure Code for judicial assistance from provincial law officers, observing that such assistance could only be sought through the attorney general, the federal government’s law officer.
Islamabad Advocate General Naveed Hayat Malik, who was among those who appeared before the court today, informed the bench that a miscellaneous application had been filed seeking permission to screen videos of the PTI’s protests in 2022 and 2024.
The Islamabad AG noted that the PTI leadership was claiming that its planned long march would remain peaceful and was aimed at strengthening the judiciary. He said he wished to place before the court statements made by PTI leaders as well as videos of the party’s previous protests.
Initially, Justice Dogar expressed reluctance to allow the screening of videos.
“That is not the practice of this court,” he observed when the AG sought permission to play footage of the November 2024 protest.
When the law officer pointed out instances of videos being played in the Supreme Court, Justice Dogar remarked that the IHC did not wish to establish a precedent of routinely playing videos during court proceedings.
After a brief break, however, the bench allowed the footage to be screened, with the chief justice making it clear that the videos would be played only once.
More to follow
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