IHC hears plea against JUI-F 'Azadi March' in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A bench of the Islamabad High Court while hearing a petition on Wednesday against the ‘Azadi March’ of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman directed Islamabad administration to ensure law and order in the city, ARY News reported.

A single bench of the high court comprises of Chief Justice Athar Minallah while hearing the petition directed deputy commissioner of the capital city to maintain law and order.

The anti-government March announced by the JUI-F is scheduled to take place on October 27.

The permission for the sit-in will not be granted, if the party will not apply for it, the bench remarked.

The court granted permission to the PTI as per the law when the party held sit-in (in 2014), the bench further remarked.

Petitioner Hafiz Ahtisham while pleading his case in person requested the court to prohibit Maulana Fazlur Rehman from his announced ‘Azadi March’ and the sit-in.

The petitioner said that the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court earlier ordered that a protest and sit-in should be restricted to a fixed place to avoid any disruption in routine life.

The petitioner made Interior Secretary, Secretary Education, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad and Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) a party in the case.

The bench told the petitioner that his plea was premature.

Petitioner pleaded the bench for permission to appoint a lawyer for pleading his case.

The bench granted permission and adjourned the hearing for one week.

On Oct. 3, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that the “Azadi March” will begin on October 27 after staging protest demonstration to express solidarity with the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir.