Islamabad, June 2 (UNI) The petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the country’s Supreme Court seeking a ruling from the top court on protection from government action for those partaking in the party’s planned march on Islamabad was returned by the court, Dawn reported on Thursday.
The PTI had approached the top court on Wednesday seeking directions to bar the federal government and other relevant authorities from using “coercive measures or intimidating tactics”, violence or creating hindrances for party activists and leaders who intend to participate in the party’s second march on Islamabad.
Responding to the PTI’s plea, the registrar said the Supreme Court had already decided on an “almost similar issue vide Constitution petition 19/2022”.
The court in its verdict noted that “the top functionaries of the government including the Interior Ministry shall ensure that excessive or disproportionate use of force against the political workers is discontinued immediately.”
In that petition, the Supreme Court had on May 25 — when the PTI held its first march to Islamabad — allowed the party to hold its protest rally near Peshawar Mor between the H-9 and G-9 area of Islamabad and restrained the government from arresting its leaders and workers in connection with the march.
The registrar said the petitioner had not approached “any other appropriate forum available under the law for the same relief and has also not provided any justification for not doing so”.
The court also pointed out that the petitioner had raised a “scandalous matter in paragraphs number 4, 5, 12, and 14”, wherein the petitioner had said that Imran Khan was removed from office “through a murky and illegally orchestrated vote of no confidence”. The party also said: “… In order to galvanise the people of Pakistan against this illegally orchestrated regime change, the Petitioner has been holding several rallies and gatherings all across the country” which it said does not comply with the apex court rules for petitions,
It further said that “Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi was illegally ousted from the Prime Minister’s office through an orchestrated vote of no confidence in Majlis-e-Shoora on April 10, the people of Pakistan, in hundreds of thousands, came out (unplanned) into the street to register their protest against the illegal removal of the Petitioner from the government.”
PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan had on Wednesday said he would announce the date for the next march to Islamabad as soon as the apex court ruled on the petition filed by his party. In a rally held in Shangla today, Imran said he would give his next plan of action in a rally in Dir two days from now after “studying the Supreme Court decision”.
