The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued notices to the Punjab government and the Lahore deputy commissioner to respond to a writ petition seeking a ban on the upcoming rally of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Lahore. A bench of the high court directed them to furnish their response to the petition by Wednesday (today). Advocate Nadeem Sarwar moved the petition citing the federal government, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party as respondents in the petition. A health emergency has been enforced in the country in the wake of coronavirus, the petition said. The PDM is holding protest rallies despite the government’s ban on large public meetings, which are causing a spike in coronavirus cases, according to the petition. “The PDM leadership is playing with the lives and health of the people,” the petition said. The petitioner observed that “the educational institutions have been closed and other gatherings have been banned due to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.” The petitioner requested the court to restrain the PDM from holding a public rally in Lahore and order legal action over violation of the government’s coronavirus SOPs.