Lahore High Court Directs DC to Allocate Venue for PTI Rally

Lahore: The Lahore High Court has directed the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Lahore to determine a venue for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold a rally. The court issued the order in response to PTI’s petition seeking permission for a rally on August 14. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi presided over the hearing concerning the request.
During the proceedings, the government lawyer informed the court that due to security concerns related to Chehlum on August 24, 25, and 26, the request for the rally should be submitted after these dates. The court was advised to consider security conditions before making a decision. PTI’s lawyer proposed submitting an affidavit for a date after August 26, but the government lawyer suggested filing the request post-August 26.
Justice Najafi remarked that it would be beneficial if the DC Lahore could appear before the court to address the issue. Following this, the court summoned DC Lahore, Raafia Haider, who appeared as ordered. The court instructed DC Haider to determine the venue for the rally and adjourned the case until August 16.
DC Lahore informed the court that PTI should submit their rally request for dates between August 27 and September 2, and assured that a decision would be made within a week. However, DC Haider stated that permission for a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan could not be granted and promised to provide alternative venue options.

PTI had initially filed the petition challenging the denial of permission for their August 14 rally, and subsequently submitted a new request for August 13 following the refusal to hold the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan.