The Islamabad High Court (IHC) decided on Tuesday to constitute a larger bench to examine a petition challenging Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned nationwide protest on 27 September, with the chief justice describing the case as sensitive and carrying constitutional weight.
The party has called the demonstration to press for the release of its founder, former prime minister Imran Khan, and to rally support for constitutional supremacy, says DAWN News.
The court also issued notices to police chiefs in all four provinces and other senior officials, directing them to appear at the next hearing on 10 September.
The petition was filed by Islamabad trader Waqas Ahmed, who argued the protest would disrupt daily life, traffic and commerce in the federal capital. His counsel, Akhtar Chheena, told Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar that his client would be directly affected, noting the demonstration had been announced by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who intends to lead it in Islamabad.
Chheena cited newspaper reports quoting the KP chief minister and pointed out that numerous cases against PTI leaders remained pending before the courts, which he said should be resolved strictly through legal process rather than street pressure.
He warned that if such tactics succeeded in securing relief in one case, litigants nationwide might resort to similar methods. He also raised the possibility of an assault on Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where Khan is held, drawing a comparison with the attack on the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on 9 May 2023.
Describing the planned demonstration as unlawful, the lawyer recalled PTI’s protest of November 2024, when more than 10,000 supporters pushed into Islamabad in defiance of a ban on public gatherings, clashing with some 20,000 security personnel deployed to hold them back.
The confrontation in the capital’s Red Zone ended with PTI’s leadership withdrawing after a day of violence. Chheena said three Rangers personnel died in the unrest, questioning claims that demonstrators had been unarmed, and cited media estimates that the protest caused losses of roughly 240 million rupees.
He maintained that political pressure ought not to be used to secure judicial relief, alleging the sole aim of the September 27 rally was to force such an outcome.
The counsel argued the constitution permitted the state to impose lawful restrictions on protests and questioned whether demonstrators would again enter Islamabad accompanied by provincial government resources, as he alleged had happened previously despite a November 2024 interior ministry letter warning against it. He told the court that no application had yet been submitted to the Islamabad district magistrate seeking permission for the gathering.
He further noted that Khan, a convicted prisoner, had two cases pending before the IHC, referencing proceedings in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case, in which the court had repeatedly urged Khan’s lawyers to complete arguments on his appeal, which remained unconcluded.
He asked whether the government could instruct a court to suspend a sentence under appeal simply because large numbers of people had rallied in support of the convicted man, insisting the constitution guaranteed judicial independence.
He also referred to a march in Sindh and to KP authorities’ pledge to provide facilities for protesters, arguing that while courts could set guidelines for demonstrations, such measures could not be used to benefit individuals facing criminal proceedings.
After hearing initial arguments, Chief Justice Dogar ordered the formation of a larger bench and issued notices to the attorney general, provincial chief secretaries and inspectors general, and senior Islamabad officials, summoning them in their personal capacity. Advocates general from the four provinces and Islamabad were also directed to appear on 10 September.
