Key Takeaways
- The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has formed a larger bench to hear a petition against the PTI's planned September 27 protest.
- The court issued notices to provincial officials and summoned them to appear on September 10.
- The petition challenges the legality and potential disruption of the planned protest.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has constituted a larger bench to hear a petition challenging the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s planned protest on September 27, with the case scheduled for hearing on September 10.
The bench comprises Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, Justice Azam Khan, and Justice Muhammad Asif.
The court has already issued a notice to the Attorney General for Pakistan and has summoned the inspectors general of police, advocate generals, and chief secretaries of all four provinces to appear in person on September 10.
The petition was filed by a private citizen, Waqas Ahmed, who operates a business in Islamabad and claims to be directly affected by the planned protest.
The petitioner's lawyer, Akhter Cheena, argued that the protest could disrupt routine life, traffic, and business activities in the federal capital.
Chief Justice Dogar questioned the affected party status of the petitioner, to which the lawyer replied that the protest had been announced by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who planned to lead the demonstration in Islamabad.
The court also summoned the Islamabad chief commissioner and deputy commissioner, as well as the advocate generals of all four provinces and the advocate general Islamabad.
The court has also summoned the chief secretaries and inspectors general of police of all four provinces in their personal capacity.
The petition challenges the legality of the protest, arguing that it could disrupt the functioning of the courts and the government machinery.
The court is expected to hear the matter in light of the responses from the relevant authorities and will consider the petition in detail.
How are you an affected party?
Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court
All these cases have to be decided according to law.
Petitioner's lawyer Akhter Cheena, Counsel for the petitioner
