LAHORE, Jan 11: Lahore High Court (LHC) Judge Nasir Saeed Sheikh turned down a plea on Friday to stop a proposed long march by Dr Tahirul Qadri and referred the petition to the chief justice for further proceedings.

Petitioner A.K Dogar said Dr Qadri was not a citizen of Pakistan, therefore, he should not be allowed to hold long march.

He pleaded that the march being taken out by a foreign national would cause instability in the country and invite undemocratic forces to take benefit of the situation. Advocate Dogar prayed to the court to issue a restraining order against the Qadri’s long march. The judge, however, refused to issue the stay order and sent the petition to Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial for further hearing with some identical petitions already pending before the court.

Also, Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffrey filed a writ petition in the LHC that foolproof security be provided to the participants in the long march to be held on Jan 14.

Barrister Jaffrey stated that holding peaceful protest was a constitutional right of every citizen of Pakistan which could not be usurped in any case. He said Interior Minister Rehman Malik should be asked to disclose the proof of likely terrorist attack on the Qadri’s long march.

He requested the court to order the federal government to ensure complete security for the Jan 14 long march.