LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has filed a petition in Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday, challenging the imposing of Section 144 in Lahore by the Caretaker Punjab government under one pretext or another once the election schedule was announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on March 8.
Also read: PTI files petition in ECP to challenge Section 144 in Lahore
This came just a day after PTI filed an identical petition in the ECP challenging imposition of Section 144 in Lahore.
The Caretaker government of Punjab had imposed restrictions under Section 144 twice in a couple of days apparently to thwart PTI’s pre-election rallies.
One of the PTI worker, Ali Bilal aka Zille Shah, had lost live under controversial circumstances when Lahore Police started crackdown after sudden imposition of Section 144 on March 8.
PTI has alleged that Zille Shah was brutally tortured in police custody which caused his death, and has demanded of the LHC to constitute judicial commission to investigate into his ‘murder’.
Also read: Caretaker Punjab govt imposes section 144 in Lahore, yet again
Senior PTI leader Hammad Azhar, through his lawyer Azhar Siddiq Advocate, filed a petition in LHC this morning in which the caretaker Punjab government, Home Dept, Deputy Commissioner and others had been made respondents.
Azhar in his plea stated that Section 144 cannot be imposed after the announcement of the election schedule in the area. “Caretaker Punjab govt slapped Section 144 despite the release of the election schedule.”
The LHC has been pleaded with to declare the move of the Punjab caretaker govt ‘illegal’ and issue guidelines for the future.
