Daily Times

The PTI suffered a big blow on Thursday ahead of its power show planned for November 24 as the Islamabad High Court ruled that no protest or rally in violation of a recent law regulating public gatherings in the capital would be allowed over the weekend amid the Belarusian president’s visit.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq presided over the hearing for a petition by an Islamabad local that requested that the protest call be declared illegal and the respondents – federal government, Islamabad chief commissioner, Islamabad district magistrate and the Islamabad police – be directed to restrain the PTI from holding the protest and to maintain peace in the federal capital.

The court order said that the recently enacted Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024, outlined that if anyone wished to hold an assembly in Islamabad, they must submit an application in writing to the district magistrate not later than seven days of the intended event’s date.

The referred application is to be processed and an appropriate order is to be given regarding permission for the assembly, the order added.

However, it said that the court was informed that no such application was made till now.

“This court was also informed that the president of Belarus with his delegation of more than 60 persons is arriving on Nov 24 and their protection and freedom of movement is of utmost importance and directly involves relationship with another country, hence the larger public interest is involved.”

The order said that the court was also informed that though there was some communication with the PTI leadership, “no formal engagement as such has been made”.

It added that the PTI had the right to freedom of movement and assembly subject to the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024 and thus it would be “appropriate” that the federal government constitute a committee preferably headed by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to engage with the PTI leadership and inform it about the “sensitivity over the weekend due to movement of the president of a foreign country”.

The court ordered that the committee should also include the Islamabad chief commissioner and any other person who Naqvi deemed appropriate.

“This court is sanguine that as and when such formal engagement is made, some development would take place. In case, no breakthrough is made, then to ensure law and order situation is the responsibility of respondents No.1 to 4 without minimum disruption to the life of ordinary citizens and no violation of the Act, 2024 is committed.

“As the law on the subject is clear as daylight, respondent No.1 to 4 shall do the needful for ensurance of maintenance and law and order in ICT, Islamabad. In this regard, no protest or rally or for that matter sit-in shall be allowed by respondents No.1 to 4 in violation of Act of 2024,” the order ruled.

It concluded that it was expected that the PTI leadership would take into account the factors put forward by Naqvi during the hearing and engage in meaningful communication with the committee.

The court directed the state respondents to submit a report before the next hearing on Nov 27.

Talking to the media outside the court, Naqvi said that there would be no negotiations with the PTI as long as it continued “hurling threats”.

“Negotiations do not happen through threats,” he said. “Personally, I am in favour of talks with any party. However, threatening us and then asking us to come to the table is unacceptable.”

When asked if there was a deadline for negotiations, the minister replied: “There need to be negotiations for there to be a deadline. Since there are no negotiations, there is no deadline.”

Talking about the PTI’s protest, Naqvi said, “The chief justice called the secretary, the chief commissioner, the inspector general of police and myself. We will enforce his order.”

The interior minister said that the timing of the upcoming rally coincided with a visit by a Belarusian delegation. “We had a similar situation during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit,” he said. “A delegation from Belarus is coming on Nov 24, while the Belarusian president will come on Nov 25.”

Naqvi added that the trip would last for three days.

“Protecting foreign dignitaries is our priority,” he said. “We also need to protect Islamabad and its people, therefore we will not allow a protest or procession without permission.”

Naqvi added that the interior ministry had made arrangements for the protest with the Frontier Constabulary, Rangers and the Islamabad and Punjab police forces.

“Nobody is stopping them (PTI) from protesting, but coming to Islamabad and protesting when a foreign delegation is visiting … during such an important time for the country … the public can reach the conclusion that this is a terrible idea,” he said.

Regarding any decision to suspend mobile services, he said the decision would be taken tomorrow night.

The remarks came after Imran confirmed that he received an “offer” via top party leaders to postpone his much-hyped Islamabad protest, slated for November 24.

Speaking to the reporters in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, the PTI founder said he was told that “everything will be alright” if he accepted the offer.

Separately, the interior ministry wrote to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary to ensure that state machinery, equipment or finances were not used for PTI’s power show.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Section 144 has been imposed in Rawalpindi till Nov 26 due to “the fear of terrorism”, according to a notification issued by the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner’s (DC) office, dated Wednesday.

Separately, the Punjab Home Department requested the deployment of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) personnel in Rawalpindi, Attock and Jhelum districts, according to a notification issued today.

The department requested one to two wings of Rangers in Rawalpindi and Attock from Friday till the date of de-requisition and one company deployed to Jhelum from Friday to Wednesday.

The Punjab Home Department’s spokesperson said the decision was taken on the recommendation of the district administration.