SC orders govt not to arrest Imran Khan, allows PTI to hold protest in Islamabad's H-9

Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the federal government not to arrest PTI chairman Imran Khan and release all detained leaders and workers immediately.

The government had been directed to provide the PTI with a ground between the H-9 and G-9 areas of Islamabad to hold its public gathering.

A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Ahsan, heared the plea.

PTI’s counsel Babar Awan presented the party’s request for permission to hold a rally at the H9 ground.

Awan informed the court that Imran Khan has four demands which include the provision of H9 ground for the rally, the release of all the arrested party workers and leaders, and the removal of all the barricades that are blocking routes leading to Islamabad.

AGP Ausaf conveyed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's message that he believes in the rule of law. He said that the premier has formed a committee which will decide on the venue for the PTI rally and the use of words.

The SC bench, in its order, said it hoped that the top PTI leadership would also tell the party supporters to not take the law in their hands.

The SC issued the orders after the PTI assured that its workers would not cause damage to public and private properties. While the court allowed the protest to continue on Srinagar Highway, it also said that "the flow of traffic must not be affected, the citizens must not be bothered, and the protestors should remain peaceful."

Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf opposed the court's decision to allow the PTI to hold its protest in the designated area. "[Their] request to hold the protest in G-9 area has already been rejected."

The attorney general said the "PTI workers will be [numbered] in hundreds of thousands," adding that "[the site] where the JUI-F held its rally had the capacity of only 15,000."

At this, PTI counsel Awan quipped: "I am grateful [to you] for acknowledging that the number will be in hundreds of thousands."

The Islamabad chief commissioner and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan appeared before the court during the hearing.

The AGP assured the court of protecting every citizen.