Pak cracks whip on PTI protest, SC permits rally
Islamabad, May 25: Pakistani authorities blocked roads and arrested several supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) on Wednesday in a bid to derail the protest march called by ousted prime minister Imran Khan, a day after the government banned their rally to prevent them from propagating their misleading agenda.”
On Saturday, Khan, 69, had asked his supporters to march peacefully to Islamabad on May 25 to press for the dissolution of the National Assembly and fresh elections in the country.
Pakistan’s coalition government, however, has rejected Khan’s demand that early elections be held in the country, saying the government will complete its tenure and the polls would be held next year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government initially allowed the protest but on Tuesday refused to give permission, fearing violence and lawlessness in the wake of the march.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Supreme Court directed authorities to allow the protest rally in the national capital and restrained them from arresting the cricketerturned politician.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi ordered that the ground between G-9 and H-9 Sectors of the national capital should be provided for the purpose of rally by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) party.
Issuing directions on a petition filed on Tuesday by Islamabad High Court Bar Association President, the court also ordered a bipartisan committee of the government and PTI to settle the terms and conditions for holding the rally in a peaceful manner.
The court also instructed the authorities to not make “unnecessary use of force” and not raid the homes and offices of or arrest other PTI leaders and workers. — PTI