Pakistan's apex court dismisses petition to stop Imran Khan's protest march

Pakistans Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition to stop the protest march of former prime minister Imran Khan by observing that it was a political issue and should be resolved politicallySenator Kamran Murtaza of the ruling coalition had filed the petition against the long march by the Pakistan TehreekeInsaf party which 70yearold Khan has billed as Haqeeqi Azadi real freedom marchA threemember bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justices Athar Minallah and Ayesha Malik heard the pleaAfter detailed arguments by the parties the chief justice said that it is a political problem that can be solved politicallyThe court then dismissed the senators petitionAlso Read Pakistan Imran Khans party all set to resume stalled long marchDuring the arguments the chief justice also remarked that parliament should be strengthened to address the political issues faced by the countryYou are a senator strengthen the parliament he said addressing the petitionerThe chief justice also clarified that the apex court would intervene if there was a clear threat of constitutional violation adding that the constitution allows everyone to hold peaceful protest but it should be within the confines of the lawJustice Minallah observed that the executive enjoyed wideranging powers to deal with any law and order situation and the powers of the administration and parliament would be weakened due to intervention by the judiciaryJustice Malik asked about the mechanism by the government to regulate the protestAdditional Attorney General Chaudhry Amir Rehman told the court that the administration had asked Khans party to hold a rally in Rawat about 25km from Islamabad and also sought an affidavit from the PTI to remain peaceful but it had not provided it so farThe march began on October 28 from Lahore and is on its way towards Islamabad The PTI has announced plans to hold a historic power show in the capital and also sought permission for it but the government has not granted itKhan was ousted from power in April after losing a noconfidence vote in his leadership which he alleged was part of a USled conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia China and Afghanistan The US has denied the allegationsThe cricketerturnedpolitician the only Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted in a noconfidence vote in Parliament is seeking fresh general elections However the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is opposed to holding elections now The term of the current National Assembly will end in August 2023The long march is expected to reach Islamabad in the last week of November Khan has announced that he will join the long march in RawalpindiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever