Islamabad High Court bench terms petition non-maintainable
ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday turned down a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and others for violating the Supreme Court’s orders by regis-tering cases against workers and leaders of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) during the long march.
A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah conducted hearing of the petition moved by Kulsum Khaliq Advocate and dis-missed the same by terming it non-maintainable.
During the hearing, the IHC bench asked from the petitioner that when did the Supreme Court declare that an FIR cannot be lodged. It also asked that how the arrest of PTI workers affected her.
The lawyer replied that his profession prompted him to take the matter before the court and multiple cases were registered against PTI members within the limits of the courts of the federal capital.
The bench said that protests must be held with permission of the district ad-ministration and the SC has already disposed of this matter. Later, the court dismissed the petition.
In her petition, she cited Prime Minister Shabaz Shareef Prime Minister of Pakistan, Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah, Chief Minister Punjab Humza Shabaz, Dr. Akbar Nasir Khan IG Police Islamabad and federation of Pakistan through Attorney General as respondents. She stated that the contemnors No.1 to 4 registered the FIR against the PTI leader and political workers in allover Pakistan. She added that the consti-tution of Pakistan gives every citizen the right to peaceful protest under Article 15, 16, 17, 19.
The petitioner further said that the protest is beauty of democracy and every political party has right to peaceful protest while there is no right of govt to lodge the illegal FIR, cross the boundary wall of houses without warrant and arrest the people and close the roads. Kulsum adopted the stance that the alleged contemnors are involved in violat-ing the human rights under Article 15, 16, 17, 19 of the Constitution of Pa-kistan.
