Dancing, singing: IHC throws out plea seeking ban on live coverage of PTI sit-in
Justice Athar Minallah dismissed the petition filed by Shuhada Foundation of Pakistan Trust (SFPT) declaring it non-maintainable and frivolous.
The judge imposed a fine of Rs5,000 on the petitioner and directed to deposit the amount with Amna Masood Janjua’s Defence of Human Rights Organisation that is pursuing missing persons’ case.
The petition filed through Tariq Asad advocate contended that PTI’s sit-in has virtually turned into a musical concert that starts in the evening and ends after midnight with performances of top singers and celebrities in between the speeches of PTI leaders. Break in leaders’ speech is followed by songs and dances.
The petitioner said the trick is to attract a larger number crowd during the evening as the people visit the sit-in venue along with their families for fun and entertainment.
“A large number of participants are male and female teenagers who are not even registered voters but come to the venue with friends to enjoy an evening of fun,” the petition said. The petitioner alleged that some private TV channels are telecasting the dances of girls and boys in such a way that it is injuring the feelings of the citizens.
The petitioner prayed the court to direct Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority to stop its live coverage. However, Justice Minallah described it wastage of the court’s time.
The trust, led by Hafiz Ehtisham of Lal Masjid (red mosque), was set up in 2013 and has been pursuing a case against former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf for his role in the murder of Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and his mother.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2014.
COMMENTS (2)
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How can someone injure your feelings? Nevertheless private channels recording of protest has been pretty entertaining. I think the singing and dancing is pretty irritating and it's just making pti look credit in front of conservative & religious supporters. Hence that's why I think lal masjid is also feeling a bit worried if pti comes in power, they're a bit too modern LOL
Impressed by IHC, threw out the frivolous petition and fined the silly petitioner for wasting Court's time. Good to see atleast one proactive Court in Pakistan.