Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) directed on Wednesday the Islamabad chief commissioner to provide an alternate site to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its long march.

The SC took up a petition on Wednesday seeking the removal of roadblocks and barricades for the residents of Islamabad ahead of PTI’s long march planned for today, which the government has said it wants to prevent.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi took up the petition and summoned the interior secretary, Islamabad’s chief commissioner, deputy commissioner, inspector general of police, and advocate general to appear in the court this afternoon.

Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) President Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen had filed the petition on Tuesday under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and named the federal secretary, ministry of interior, and the chief secretaries of all the provinces as respondents.

The petition asks the SC to direct authorities to unblock roads/highways and not to create  hindrance in the movement of the citizens in any part of the country. It also wants the court to restrain state agencies and institutions from taking any unconstitutional and illegal action or harass citizens in any manner.

The petitioner maintained that it has been reported in the press that citizens including advocates, parliamentarians, and suspected protestors as well as the workers of one political party are being arrested and harassed without any reasonable and lawful justification and violating the fundamental rights of the citizens, which is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution.

As per the sources, the district administration responded to the PTI’s request to allow their long march in Islamabad, saying that they could not allow the gathering at the place identified by the party.