The Lahore High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), instructing the deputy commissioner (DC) of Lahore to make a decision on the party's request to hold a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan by September 30.
The petition was filed by PTI’s Akmal Khan Bari, who argued that the party’s request to hold a peaceful rally at the historic site was still pending with the Lahore DC. He further noted that the rally is intended to celebrate the birthday PTI Founder Imran Khan on October 5, emphasizing that the event would be peaceful.
Justice Farooq Haider of the Lahore High Court presided over the hearing and directed the public prosecutor to ensure that the DC makes a decision on the request by the specified deadline. The court also instructed the authorities to submit a report on the matter to the deputy registrar (judicial) of the Lahore High Court.
A couple of days ago, PTI leaders Hammad Azhar, Sheikh Imtiaz and Alia Hamza were booked in a case after their participation at a party meeting in Kahna area of Lahore.
The police took action after receiving reports of Azhar’s presence at the gathering, where an attempt was made to arrest him. According to the first information report (FIR), police arrived at the meeting venue to apprehend Hammad Azhar, who is already a wanted individual in a case registered at the Sarwar Road Police Station.
The report states that during the arrest attempt, Sheikh Imtiaz and Alia Hamza resisted, with both leaders and 30 to 40 unidentified PTI workers tearing the uniforms of the police officers in a bid to prevent Azhar’s detention.
