Officials draw IHC’s ire over PTI rally saga
The Islamabad High Court has hinted at issuing a show-cause notice to the district administration of Islamabad for not entertaining the request for holding a PTI rally and not implementing the court orders which quashed the cancellation of NOC for a protest rally issued by the Islamabad commissioner.
IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq remarked that the parties should resolve the matter by sitting together by Thursday (today) or be prepared for a show-cause notice.
Justice Saman Riffat Imtiaz heard the petition regarding PTI's application for permission to hold a protest and issued notices to the parties again, seeking a response.
CJ Amir Farooq heard the case regarding the administration's refusal to allow the rally and not implementing the court order. PTI's lawyer, Shoaib Shaheen, appeared in court, while Advocate General Ayaz Shaukat and DC Islamabad represented the administration.
The court directed both parties to resolve the matter by sitting together. Shoaib Shahin said that despite the court order, the administration is not implementing our request.
On a lighter note, if you send one officer to jail, the implementation will be done automatically, he said.
The Advocate General requested that the rally or protest be held after the sit-in by Jamaat-e-Islami, to which the CJ remarked that the parties should resolve the matter by sitting together by Thursday or be prepared for a show-cause notice.
The case has been adjourned until today.
Earlier, the CJ had declared the Commissioner's order cancelling the NOC for the rally as null and void. On the other hand, Justice Saman Rifat Imtiaz heard the case regarding PTI's request for permission to hold a protest and the contempt of court petition for not deciding on the request.
The Estate Council submitted a statement in court that the court notice had not been received, upon which the court issued notices again to the Secretary Interior, commissioner, deputy commissioner, and IG, seeking a response. The court had issued notices to the Secretary Interior, commissioner, deputy commissioner, and IG on PTI's request during the previous hearing.
Due to non-compliance with the notices, the court issued notices again and adjourned the hearing until today. The case will be heard by another bench due to Justice Riffat Imtiaz's summer vacation.