ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued show-cause notices to the interior secretary and inspector general of police (IGP) Islamabad for not getting 16 schools vacated from policemen called from different districts for security duty.

When the court asked Deputy Commissioner Mujahid Sherdil about the hurdles in vacating the schools despite orders, he said he had conveyed the court orders to the secretary and IGP.

On this, the court directed that the secretary and IGP be issued show-cause notices. They were also directed to file affidavits within four days.

Justice Athar Minallah issued the directions while hearing two petitions — one filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against imposition of Section 144 in the city and the other by Aabpara Traders Association President Ajmal Baloch against the sit-ins.

Justice Minallah observed that through the previous order the court had virtually suspended the imposition of Section 144 in Islamabad and freed over 600 people.

The judge remarked that the court was dealing with the question of civil liberties.

“Protest is the right of everyone but it is not an absolute right and there are certain conditions to it. It is a matter of competing fundamental rights,” Justice Minallah said.

IHC directs officials to file affidavits within four days

He also asked the lawyers, including PTI counsel Farrukh Dal and additional attorney general of Pakistan Afnan Karim Kundi, whether the prime minister, the interior minister or the district magistrate had the authority to grant permission to hold a protest.

If the prime minister and the interior minister were not competent, then under what pretext had they publicly announced that they had allowed the marchers to protest on Constitution Avenue, he asked.

Justice Minallah remarked that if the prime minister and the interior minister had unlawfully allowed the protesters, then the cost that the national exchequer had suffered may be imposed on them.

The PTI and PAT also have to explain whether they held the protests on Constitution Avenue knowing that the prime minister and interior minister did not have the authority to permit it and they required permission from the district magistrate. If this is proved, then the cost that the national exchequer suffered will also be imposed on the two parties.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Afnan Karim Kundi informed the court that there was no permission granted to the two political parties to hold the sit-ins.

At the start of the proceeding, PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi argued that last time

the court had directed that MNA Asad Umar and the district magistrate should jointly devise a mechanism to not only prevent arrest but also violation of law by the protesters.

The administration, however, flouted the orders. “They sent our political workers to Rawalpindi and procured their arrest there to avoid legal complications. There is no change in the behaviour of the administration despite court orders,” he added.

The judge told Mr Qureshi to provide a list of the arrested people besides clippings of newspapers and video footages about the crackdown on PTI workers.

He also expressed concerns over the presence of children among the protesters and said they were vulnerable to diseases. The safety and security of the minors is the responsibility of those who have brought them, the judge said.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd , 2014