Verdict on plea seeking ban on rallies reserved

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) while accepting the maintainability of a petition seeking a ban on political rallies at D-Chowk and Red Zone Islamabad reserved the verdict. IHC judge Aamir Farooq heard the plea filed by lawyer Muhammad Asif Gujjar.

The petitioner said that the court has allowed political parties to hold rallies at the Parade Ground only while the district administration has allocated the Democracy Park and Speech Corner for this purpose.

It prayed the court to issue directions to the district administration to ensure the implementation of the court orders. The court objected as to how the registrar’s office of the high court could be made respondent in the case. The lawyer prayed the court to allow him to expunge the name of the registrar’s office from the plea. The petitioner said that he was not opposing political rallies but instead he was requesting the court to issue orders to hold political rallies at a dedicated location. The court reserved judgment after listening arguments of the lawyer.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2022.