LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday received several petitions filed in the wake of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan’s call for “civil disobedience” and to ‘prevent’ PML-N top leadership’s ‘possible’ escape abroad after a court ordered registration of a case against them on an application filed by Idara Minhajul Quran.

Advocate Kashif Mahmood Sulemani contended in his petition that giving a call for civil disobedience was tantamount to committing sedition against state and the Constitution. Therefore, he says, Imran Khan by giving the call tried to incite people of Pakistan for disloyalty and wanted to paralyse the state machinery.

He prayed the court should declare the PTI chief’s act unconstitutional and order him to not to violate the Constitution.

In another petition, Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree asked the court to put Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and other PML-N leaders on Exit Control List (ECL).

Another petition seeks names of PML-N leaders on ECL

Mr Jafree alleged that these people might flee the country as a sessions court ordered police to lodge an FIR against them for their involvement in June 17 killings outside Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town.

He said many important national secrets would be leaked to foreign forces if the respondents were allowed to flee the country. Barrister Jafree also sought review of a full bench order against protest marches of the PTI and PAT.

A citizen, Zubair Ahmad, filed a petition seeking an order for Punjab government with regard to a public inquiry held by a judicial tribunal into Model Town incident.

He submitted that the government put the inquiry report in cold storage and was avoiding its release in order to protect those actually responsible for killings of PAT supporters. He asked the court to direct the government to release the tribunal’s report so that the actual culprits could be taken to task.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2014