Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered government to stop harassing workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
IHC conducted hearing on plea of PTI against closure of roads and possible arrests of its leaders and workers in the federal capital.
The court directed officials to not harass anyone unnecessarily and issued notices to IGP, Chief Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Islamabad.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that unbridled protests cannot be allowed in the federal capital and how will miscreant elements be dealt with if they reach Islamabad under guise of a protest.
It merits mention that the PTI has filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court under Article 199 of the Constitution and prayed the court to stop the ICT administration from sealing the roads and arresting people.
The commissioner, deputy commissioner and Islamabad inspector general have been made party in the plea.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has accepted a petition against the police crackdown on PTI leaders’ homes and the closure of roads leading to the capital ahead of PTI’s Azaadi march, ARY News reported.
The SC, accepting the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s petition, formed a three-member bench headed by Justice Aijaz-ul-Ahsan and set the hearing for May 25, 2022.
Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi are the two other judges int the three-member bench. The petitioner claimed that the closure of roads is causing problems for common people who want to go to their offices or children going to school. The petition added that the police are trading homes of PTI leaders, MNAs, MPAs and workers and arresting them without any warrants.
The petition urged the Supreme Court to order the removal of obstacles from roads and halt the security agencies from committing any unconstitutional acts.
Police in the wee hours of Tuesday raided former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed’s residence, Lal Haveli ahead of PTI’s Azadi March.
Police raided Lal Haveli to arrest Awami Muslim League chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and Sheikh Rashid Shafiq..In the CCTV footage, a heavy contingent of police can be seen surrounding Sheikh Rasheed’s Lal Haveli to arrest the Awami Muslim League chief but failed in doing so.
Earlier, Sheikh Rasheed said in a statement that four vehicles with government number plates have been deployed outside his Lal Haveli residence ahead of PTI’s long march to Islamabad.
He claimed that police officials without uniforms were deployed along with the vehicle there.
The former interior minister said that he is not afraid of being arrested. “I will not get arrested and I will timely reach the Islamabad march’s venue on May 25 on the call of Imran Khan at any cost.”
City Traffic Police (CTP) Rawalpindi has completed all the arrangements to maintain smooth flow of traffic amid long march call declared by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). According to the police spokesman, during the long march, more than 462 personnel would be on duty for the convenience of the citizens.
Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Naveed Irshad said additional personnel have been deployed on all major highways including Peshawar Road, Mall Road and Murree Road. He informed that the traffic would be diverted from diversion points to alternate routes whereas additional duties have also been assigned on diversion points and alternate routes. “There will be traffic police deployed at all points to maintain the flow of traffic,” he added.
The citizens should travel 20 minutes prior to their schedule to avoid any inconvenience and also avoid unnecessary travelling, he maintained
