Imran Khan challenges Article 245 enforcement in Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Imran Khan has challenged imposition of Article 245 in the Supreme Court seeking to declare enforcement of the law as void, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Advocate Hamid Khan has filed a constitutional petition with former prime minister Imran as petitioner.

PTI leader has also petitioned the apex court to constitute a commission to inquire into May 09 and 10 violent incidents.

He has pleaded to the court to declare arrests of the party workers under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) as unconstitutional.

Imran Khan has also challenged the decision to initiate cases against the PTI leaders and workers under the Army Act.

“Imran Khan has always respected institutions and stood alongside them,” petition read. “He had backed the armed forces over Pulwama issue dated February 27,2019”.

The court should declare forced separation of the PTI leaders from party as unconstitutional, he asked, alleging that “this drama has been orchestrated by Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz”.

PTI chairman has made the federal government, Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rehman as respondents in the case.

Imran Khan has also made caretaker chief ministers Mohsin Naqvi, Azam Khan and others as party.

Federal Interior Ministry had approved army deployment in Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and later in Balochistan to address the deteriorating law and order situation following arrest of Imran Khan in Al-Qadir Trust graft reference.

After arrest of the PTI chairman, violent protests broke out across the country and provincial governments sought deployment of armed forces from the interior ministry. Federal government authorized the deployment of army troops for maintaining the law-and-order situation in aid to civil authority under Article 245 of the Constitution.