ISLAMABAD - A petition seeking court’s directions for the federal and provincial govts to devise comprehensive guidelines for holding of public rally, meeting and sit-in was moved in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The petition was filed by Kamran Murtaza senior Advocate of the Supreme Court and he cited Federation of Pakistan through Secretary Ministry of Interior, Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) through its General Secretary Asad Umar and Chairman PTI Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi as respondents.
In his petition, Murtaza requested the court to issue directions to the Federal and Provincial Governments to devise comprehensive guidelines for holding of public rally/Jalsa/dharna ensuring balance between competing fundamental rights including prohibition to hold such rally within the populated areas of cities including ICT if exceeding a certain number of persons and also to ensure that such rally may not be for indefinite period of time. He also prayed to the court to issue directions to respondents 1 to 5 to thereafter regulate the holdings of public gathering/rally/Jalsa and ensure that that any rally/Jalsa will not encroach and stifle the fundamental rights of the people of the ICT as well as the people of Pakistan. The petitioner also requested the court to direct the respondent No. 6 and 7 to conduct in an orderly manner and abide by the law beside directions issued by this Court from time to time and the guidelines issued by the governments in respect of holdings of rallies. He added that Jalsa/dharna be kept out skirts of Islamabad city where this court deem appropriate.
He stated that the reason for filing this petition directly before the august Supreme Court of Pakistan is that the issue raised herein, namely whether a political party, in purported exercise of fundamental rights under Articles 15, 16 and 17 (2) of the Constitution can impinge on corresponding fundamental rights of citizens of Pakistan and what reasonable restrictions the State is required to impose to balance the competing fundamental rights, raises the question of public importance, relating to enforcement of fundamental rights, hence, falling within the scope of Article 184(3) of the Constitution, in light of the dicta laid down by this august Court in the case reported as PLD 2007 Supreme Court 642. He raised the question that whether any government / executive can give permission for any long march / political rally, and whether any political party can conduct a long march / political rally, without first complying with the directions/expectation of this Court in PLD 2019 SC 318 and PLD 2022 SC 511?
The petitioner added that whether the fundamental rights of one group of citizens, i.e. members of PTI, under inter alia Articles 9, 15, 16 and 17 of the Constitution can be given preference and priority over fundamental rights of other citizens of Pakistan and whether the State is bound to enforce and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan and where applicable take suitable measures for balancing of such fundamental rights and in absence thereof whether this Court is empowered under Article 184 (3) to pass appropriate orders for such measures/ balancing?
He continued that the Provincial Governments in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well the Government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Gligit-Baltistan (GB) are being led by PTI and according to PTI leadership rallies from these provinces and AJ&K and GB will converge on Islamabad and join the long march led by Chairman PTI. In such view of the matter, particularly in view of admission of IK regarding possession of arms by his party worker during the 25th May-2022 rally and the recent audio leak of Ali Amin Gandapur and considering the past conduct of PTI, it is imminent that law & order situation will ensue and the resultant & chaos will be used by miscreants and/or any terrorist group/militants, to cause loss of life and property of public at large. Murtaza maintained that the situation has become even more polarized after the shooting at the PTI long-march/ rally on November 4, 2022 which resulted in injury to Respondent No 7 (Imran) as well as other party leaders/members and tragic death of one participant.
He pointed out that Faisal Vawda, former Federal Minister in PTI Government had earlier forewarned in his press conference on Oct 26, 2022 that PTI’s long march would be violent/bloody and result in many deaths. “This clearly shows intent to confront the state institution to the detriment of fundamental rights of the people guaranteed by the Constitution under Article 9, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24 and 25A. The Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 in the circumstances be directed to take all necessary precautions and measure to ensure free enjoyment of right to life, movement, education, trade and property and no person/persons be allowed to violate the rights of others in the grab of dharna/jalsa/rally,” said the petition