ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah will hear today (Tuesday) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s petition against the harassment of its workers to stop them from their long march.
PTI Additional General Secretary Amir Mehmood Kiani on Monday filed a constitutional petition and cited federation through secretary Ministry of Interior, Inspector General of Police, Islamabad, Chief Commissioner ICT and Deputy Commissioner, Islamabad as respondents.
The petition said that in order to educate the people of Pakistan, the PTI has been holding many rallies and gatherings all over the country and the rallies have been held peacefully and in exercise of its political and fundamental constitutional rights.
It further said now the public at large, in the leadership of the PTI, has decided peacefully to hold a public march/rally starting from 25th May and go to Islamabad to record their peaceful protest for real freedom. It added that the purpose of the gathering is to address the people of Pakistan and draw attention of the government towards public sentiments and their constitutional demands to save parliamentary norms/ customs/practices, rule of law and elimination of corruption.
“However unfortunately contrary to the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution particularly relating to freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, holding of gatherings marches public rallies, freedom of expression, freedom of information and due process, the respondents are illegally trying to stop the march/rally/gathering in from taking place through harassment, intimidation, arrests and torture of the leaders and members of PTI putting in roadblocks containers etc, everywhere, closing the routes into Islamabad and outside in other cities, arresting the families of leaders and members of PII, restricting movement of people, putting them under illegal house arrests etc, the impugned actions,” maintained the PTI.
It continued that in this connection, Dr Shireen Mazari, ex-minister of human rights and leader of the PTI was illegally detained on 22nd May 2022 and was only released on the intervention of this Court. It further said that the ministers including of the Ministry of interior have been making statements and undertaking hatching plans for taking the impugned actions and inter-alia indulging in illegal arrests throughout Pakistan to ensure that the march does not take place.
The PTI adopted the stance that the public wish for a fresh mandate for ruling the country, and since the petitioner’s call for peaceful marches and rallies throughout the country beginning in the 4th week of May 2022, the present government is using different tactics to harass the petitioner, its leader, the PTI workers and journalists by using its government machinery, arresting people from different places and registering fake FIRs and using law and enforcement machinery in illegal manner/methods/tactics which are not permissible in the eye of the constitution and the law.
It added, “To stop the people of Pakistan who want to-record their peaceful protest in Islamabad, Government is trying to use different illegal tactics to squash and suppress the petitioner and his party leadership/workers by way of arrest and raiding their homes. In series of these illegal/misuse of power, government raided twice even the residence of the petitioner’s chairman and his workers’ residences and arrested many of the PTI’s leadership and workers.”
It also requested the court that the respondents be stopped from-in any manner restricting the assembly of the people organized by the petitioner’s party in Islamabad.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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