The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday while upholding the imposition of Section 144 in the capital till October 13, directed the capital’s police to avoid arresting people for congregating during the Eid holidays.
Justice Athar Minullah gave the direction while hearing petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PTI which had challenged the imposition of the section in the capital.
The court questioned how police could enforce the law since it would mean arresting people who gather to offer Eid prayers and directed the police not to arrest people without due cause.
On Friday, the additional attorney general (AAG) informed the court that in the wake of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, there were threats
of terrorism in the capital. The PTI’s counsel Niazullah Niazi argued that if the section was enforced, offering Eid prayers will become a difficult task.
Justice Minullah asked whether the government wanted to enforce Section 144 on Eid.
The AAG told the court that the last few days have seen terrorism incidents occurring in different cities and the government did not want any unfortunate incident to occur in Islamabad.
The judge then directed the federal government to provide a list of terrorists who were arrested before they could carry out their plans and adjourned the case till October 13.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2014.
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