LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday asked the opposition parties to end their Mall Road sit-in by midnight and also ordered the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to ensure stoppage of coverage of the protest after the deadline.

Hearing petitions filed against the sit-in hosted by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), a three-judge bench further directed the Punjab government to ensure smooth flow of traffic on roads as well as opening of educational institutions, shops, business places and offices on Thursday (today).

During the lengthy proceedings, the full bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan took serious notice of the ambiguous language of the notification issued by Lahore’s deputy commissioner on the request of the opposition parties for holding a sit-in. Justice Shahid Jamil Khan and Justice Shahid Karim were the other members of the bench.

The court observed that the government had not stopped holding of the protest and had vaguely permitted it by not hindering the arrangements made by the opposition parties for it.

The bench asked the deputy commissioner to explain his position in writing as to whether his indirect permission to hold the protest on the Mall Road was not a violation of a 2011 judgement of the court and also the provisions of the Punjab Civil Administration Act, 2017.

Earlier, Advocate General of Punjab Shakilur Rehman told the court that the provincial government had in the light of an LHC decision notified a policy in 2011 and termed the area of the Mall Road “red zone” and allocated Nasser Bagh and Attique Stadium for holding of protests.

However, Justice Karim noted that the government’s policy had no legal backing and the matter in hand pertained to the fundamental right of lawful assembly. He observed that the government did not appear serious in implementing its own law and policy owing to political implications.

Senior lawyer Latif Khan Khosa and Advocate Azhar Siddique appeared before the bench on behalf of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PAT. They undertook before the judges that the protest would be peaceful and end before midnight. They said the protest would not spill over to the next day.

On an argument of the parties’ counsel in support of their sit-in, Justice Jamil observed that there had to be a balance in the enforcement of fundamental rights enjoyed by the protesters and those by other citizens.

Representing the Mall Road Traders Association, Advocate Asad Manzoor Butt argued that the government had in 2011 imposed a ban on holding protests, rallies and sits-in on the Mall Road on the directive of the court. He said the government under a legislation had allocated Nasser Bagh for such activities; however, the ban had never been enforced by the government.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2018