The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday decided to form a larger bench to hear a petition against the PTI’s planned Sept 27 protest, terming the matter sensitive and observing that it could have constitutional implications.
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it → decide → implications
The IHC also issued notices to the police chiefs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan, among other officials, seeking their attendance at the next hearing on Sept 10.
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IHC → issue → Sept
The PTI has announced a nationwide protest on Sept 27 to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan and mobilise people for the supremacy of the Constitution.
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PTI → announce → Constitution
A citizen, Waqas Ahmed, had challenged the planned move in the IHC on the grounds that the protest could disrupt routine life, traffic and business activities in the federal capital.
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protest → challenge → capital
Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar took up the plea on Tuesday, with the petitioner’s lawyer, Akhter Cheena, informing the court that his client was a trader in Islamabad and would be “directly affected” by the planned protest.
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client → take → protest
When the IHC CJ asked how the petitioner would be affected, the lawyer replied that the protest had been announced by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who planned to lead the demonstration in Islamabad.
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who → ask → Islamabad
This could disrupt businesses and normal life in the capital, he explained.
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he → disrupt → capital
The lawyer also read out newspaper clippings containing statements attributed to the KP CM and argued that several cases against PTI leaders were already pending in courts.
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cases → read → courts
“All these cases have to be decided according to law,” the lawyer stressed, arguing that if pressure through street protests was accepted as a means of obtaining relief in one case, people across the country with cases pending in court could use the same means.
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people → have → means
He also voiced concerns about the possibility of an attack on Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail — where Imran is incarcerated — asking whether a plan similar to the May 9, 2023 attack at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi could be carried out.
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plan → voice → Rawalpindi
Terming the planned protest “illegal”, he recalled the November 2024 protest by the PTI.
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he → term → PTI
November 26 protests, as they famously came to be known as, saw more than 10,000 PTI protesters surge into Islamabad, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown to skirmish with 20,000 security forces enlisted to turn them back.
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protesters → come → them
A day of clashes between security forces and protesters in the city’s Red Zone had ended in the PTI leadership’s hasty retreat.
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day → end → retreat
Lawyer Cheena noted that casualties were also reported in the incident.
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casualties → note → incident
He said three Rangers personnel had lost their lives and questioned how that happened if the claims that the protesters were unarmed were true.
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protesters → say → lives
Citing media reports, he said the protest caused losses of around Rs240 million.
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protest → cite → million
He argued that political pressure “should not be used to get judicial relief”.
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pressure → argue → relief
“The only purpose [of the Sept 27 protest] is to exert pressure and obtain relief,” the counsel alleged.
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counsel → exert → relief
The lawyer contended that the Constitution allowed the government to impose “lawful restrictions” on protests.
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government → contend → protests
He referred to the legal framework governing protests in Islamabad and questioned whether the protesters would enter the federal capital on Sept 27 with government machinery with them.
At that, CJ Dogar repeated the question, asking whether the protesters would have the KP government’s machinery.
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protesters → refer → machinery
The counsel claimed that they would and produced before the court a letter dated Nov 21, 2024, issued by the Ministry of Interior.
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they → claim → Interior
He argued that despite the federal government’s communication, government machinery had allegedly been used during the 2024 protest.
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machinery → argue → protest
The lawyer further claimed that, so far, no application had been submitted before the Islamabad district magistrate, seeking permission for the planned protest.
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application → claim → protest
He further contended that Imran was a convicted prisoner and that two cases concerning him were pending before the IHC.
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cases → contend → IHC
He also read out the orders passed in the £190m Al-Qadir Trust case and argued that the court had repeatedly asked Imran’s counsel to advance arguments on the appeal against his conviction, but arguments had not been concluded.
“This is his position in a legal matter before this court,” the counsel said.
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counsel → read → court
He then questioned whether the government could direct a court to suspend a sentence in an appeal merely because two million people came out in support of the convict.
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people → question → convict
“Can the government direct the court to suspend the sentence in an appeal? Is this possible?” the counsel asked and asserted that the Constitution clearly provided for the independence of the judiciary.
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Constitution → direct → judiciary
Referring to political developments in other provinces, the counsel said a march had also taken place in Sindh, and KP authorities had announced that facilities would be provided to the protesters.
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facilities → refer → protesters
He again argued that the courts could issue guidelines regarding protests, but such arrangements could not be used to provide relief to individuals facing criminal cases.
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arrangements → argue → cases
After hearing the initial arguments, CJ Dogar observed that the matter was sensitive and had constitutional implications.
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matter → hear → implications
The court consequently decided to constitute a larger bench to hear the petition and issued notices to the relevant parties, including the attorney general for Pakistan; chief secretaries and inspectors general (IG) of KP, Punjab and Balochistan; as well as the chief commissioner, deputy commissioner and IG of Islamabad.
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court → decide → Islamabad
The court summoned these officials in their personal capacity.
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court → summon → capacity
Notices were also issued to the advocates general of KP, Punjab and Balochistan, along with the Islamabad prosecutor general.
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Notices → issue → general
The Aporia
