PTI protest permission case: IHC questions State Council on delay

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) continued hearings today regarding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition seeking contempt of court notice for the delay in granting permission to hold a protest rally.

Presided over by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb – due to leave of Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz – the court questioned the State Council about the reasons behind the postponement of the rally.

PTI’s protest permission case; IHC re-issues notices

Justice Aurangzeb inquired, “Why is PTI not being allowed to protest? What is wrong if a political party wants to hold a meeting?” He questioned the potential bias in handling such requests, suggesting, “If the ruling party asks for permission, you will put it on a plate.”

The State Council responded by stating that the district administration had granted permission for the rally, initially suggesting it could take place after August 20. They later specified that permission had been given for August 22.

To this the IHC Justice replied that there was no contempt of court in this case.

Justice Aurangzeb emphasised that it is not the court’s role to interfere with administrative decisions regarding security issues. He also highlighted past incidents, referring to a protest in Faizabad that resulted in damage to the government treasury. “Make an SOP, law, or rules for Islamabad,” he advised for future instances.

The court reserved the verdict after listening to the responses by the state authorities.

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The case stems from a petition filed by PTI in the IHC where the party has sought contempt of court notice against the authorities for not allowing their protest. The IHC had issued notices to the Interior Secretary, Chief Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Inspector General of Islamabad, seeking their responses. However, yesterday the State Council claimed they never received these notices, prompting the court to reissue them. This resulted in the reissuance of notices to the parties concerned.