LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan’s petition seeking the dismissal of 121 cases registered against him has been fixed before the Lahore High Court (LHC) today (Monday).
Lahore High Court (LHC) two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi will take up the petition.
According to the petition, the government was misusing the criminal justice system to stop the PTI chief from participating in the upcoming elections.
It is sated that more than 100 cases have been filed against Imran Khan. The petitioner told the LHC the same on March 24 while seeking protective bail in five cases registered against him in Islamabad.
The petition named the federation of Pakistan, the province of Punjab, Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar, the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment director general, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Punjab caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as respondents.
The petition said that 31 cases were registered against Imran in Islamabad, 30 in Lahore, 14 in Faisalabad, 10 in Rawalpindi, six in Bhakkar, five in Bahawalpur, four each in Rahim Yar Khan and Attock, three each in Sheikhupura and Jhelum, two each in Chakwal and Gujranwala and one each in Quetta, Karachi, Wazirabad, Narowal, Multan, Bahawalnagar and Mianwali.
The petition said Imran, the PTI and the party’s supporters were being prevented from exercising their right to contest elections and their freedom of speech was also being curtailed. It argued that while the petitioners were “being targeted and persecuted with the full might of the state”, their political rivals were freely conducting public gatherings and getting media coverage.
It also called on the court to direct the respondents to provide a comprehensive report containing the details of the various FIRs and criminal proceedings against the petitioners and to direct that no coercive action is taken against them under the petition is decided.
At the end, it was appealed to the court to declare the mass detention and disappearance of political workers contrary to the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and to release them all forthwith.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023