ISLAMABAD, April 5: The Supreme Court office announced on Monday that only persons possessing valid entry passes issued by the court will be allowed to enter the Supreme Court building on April 7 (Wednesday) , when the SC will take up Shahbaz Sharif's petition seeking permission to return to Pakistan.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, will take up the former Punjab chief minister's petition. The SC has bitter memories when it was attacked by PML-N workers when Mian Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister and Mian Shahbaz Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab.

An announcement by the SC Registrar, Mohammad Amin Farooqi, on Monday, said: "It is notified for information of all concerned that on 07.04.2004 (Wednesday) entry of general public inside the court building shall be restricted through passes.

"The employees of the court as well as other offices in the Supreme Court building would be allowed to enter on the production of their official identity cards." The passes will be issued on the recommendation of the concerned advocate-on-record (AOR). The AORs may contact the assistant registrar (general) for obtaining passes for their clients, the SC announcement said.