LAHORE   -  The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed a petition, seeking directions for formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the arrest of banned TLP Chief Hafiz Saad Rizvi and protests in its aftermath.

LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan heard the petition filed by a law firm.

A counsel for the petitioner-firm pleaded with the court to issue directions for formation of a JIT. He submitted that Hafiz Saad was arrested and the clips of his arrest which went viral on social media provoked TLP followers to block the roads. He submitted that the common people faced a lot of hardship due to the road blockades. However, the Chief Justice questioned as to which tenet of Islam allowed creating problems for people by acts like road blockades. He asked who should be held responsible for loss of precious lives due to traffic jams caused by the protests.

The Chief Justice questioned from the counsel that under what law the petition was filed and what were the grounds for formation of JIT. He observed as to why the petition should not be dismissed with ‘cost’.

Subsequently, the Chief Justice LHC dismissed the petition with a fine of Rs 200,000.