LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging a ban on the celebration of Baisakhi festival in Gujranwala.

A citizen, Muhammad Ishaq, filed the petition saying people had been observing Baisakhi Festival regularly for over 500 years, however, the government disallowed the celebrations this year.

He said the act of the government caused a sense of deprivation among cultural circles. The petitioner asked the court to set aside the ban for being in violation of fundamental rights of citizens.

The Gujranwala city police officer appeared before the court and stated that the ban was imposed owing to security reasons. He claimed that intelligence agencies informed the government about possible terrorism attack during the Baisakhi festival.

The CPO said ensuring security for the participants had become unfeasible for the police. The court dismissed the petition relying on the view of the CPO.

ACID CASE: The Lahore High Court complaint cell on Tuesday took notice of an acid throwing incident in Vehari where a man allegedly threw acid on his wife over a domestic dispute.

The cell directed the Vehari district and sessions judge to look into the matter and submit a report within a week.

Suspect Muhammad Husain used to scuffle with his wife often over trivial issues. On the day of the incident, he beat up his wife and threw acid on her face.

The victim was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital where doctors said over 60 per cent of her face and the right side of the body were affected.

Burewala Sadar police had registered a case under Section 336 of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act besides arresting the accused.

BAIL DENIED: The Lahore High Court denied bail to an accused involved in stealing window structures of Metro Bus Service.

Yousaf Masih alleged the police implicated him in a fake case. He said he had nothing to do with stealing of the material and requested the court to grant him bail.

However, the investigating officer of Mozang police told the court that MBS officials had caught Yousaf Masih, a sweeper, red-handed stealing aluminum windows from the station.

He said the stolen windows were also recovered from his custody.

The court dismissed the bail petition.