PTI petitions IHC for de-sealing its central secretariat in capital

Islamabad: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to order the de-sealing of its central secretariat in the federal capital.

The move follows after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) demolished a portion of the PTI Central Secretariat over a “violation of building rules” on Thursday night. The demolition drew strong condemnation from the former ruling party.

According to the authority, its anti-encroachment team launched an operation to eliminate illegal construction and encroachment. In response, the PTI voiced its concerns in the Senate and today, the party's secretary general, Omar Ayub Khan, filed the petition and made secretary of interior, chief commissioner, CDA chairman, and IG Islamabad parties in the case.

The PTI leader, in the petition, said: “Neither any order nor any notice was ever served upon the petitioner, hence, the impugned act of the respondents is due to malafide intention, blackmailing, without due process of law and violation of principle of natural justice and also contrary to Article 4 and 10-A of the Constitution."

The petitioner argued that PTI, through its members Arshad Dad and Naseem ur Rehman, purchased commercial plot Number 1-A situated at Shopping Centre, Sector G-8/4-2 from Sartaj Ali in 2020.