IHC rules in favour of PTI, grants permission to hold rally in Islamabad

The Islamabad High Court has ruled in favour of allowing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold a rally in Islamabad, overturning a previous decision by the authorities to deny permission due to security concerns.

On Wednesday, the court granted the PTI’s plea to conduct a public gathering despite being denied permission to do so. It directed the Islamabad administration to present any conditions they wished to, but the party was still allowed to hold the event.

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IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq stressed the importance of the fundamental right to assemble throughout the hearing, saying that “one’s right to assembly cannot be taken away.” Everyone has organized rallies; you are free to establish the guidelines and restrictions.”

In order to maintain public safety during the rally, the court ordered the PTI to abide by the customary terms and conditions established by the Islamabad administration.

The court instructed the counsel to ensure that the rally does not result in a scenario involving law and order after PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat informed the court that the party intended to organize a protest in Islamabad.

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The standing counsel contended that the PTI had previously been granted permission for demonstrations, but this time the party was refused permission because of security concerns.

CJ Farooq responded by telling the attorney to put regular conditions since there was nothing wrong with that. He further said that permission should be provided in accordance with the standard terms of reference (TORs) and that there should be no special requirements.

Marwat consented to abide by numerous rules.

Chief Justice Farooq stated, “Life doesn’t stop, it keeps going,” in response to the government counsel’s statement on Tuesday that a horrific act of terrorism had occurred. This emphasizes the necessity to battle terrorism without stopping daily routine.

Chief Justice Farooq argued that the court must make decisions quickly, and the court denied the public prosecutor’s request for more time to gather instructions.