Imran Khan filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan
According to Dawn, Imran Khan, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), has petitioned the Pakistan Supreme Court to establish a judicial committee to look into the alleged repression of his party’s leaders and members.
In cooperation with “unknown persons,” state agencies are accused in the petition of targeting party members and breaching their basic rights.
A judicial committee headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, together with Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, is to be established, according to the plea, which was submitted by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja. The panel would look into both political and non-political meddling in state institutions, find instances of constitutional oath violations, and prosecute individuals involved.
The petition urges the highest court to make orders to protect the basic rights protected by the Constitution, such as the freedom of speech, travel, information, life, and legal redress.
According to Dawn, it also requests an order against the rejection of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for PTI’s planned political rallies, namely one that is set for November 24.
In order to address more general concerns, the petition asks the court to forbid local governments from abusing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to suppress peaceful protests. Additionally, it alleges that the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance (MPO) 1960’s indiscriminate use of detention orders against opposition individuals, civil rights activists, and political workers is illegal.
Authorities are accused of coordinating harassment via arrests, false accusations, and repeated detentions, according to the petition, which outlines alleged abuses of basic rights. In addition to giving high courts the authority to stop police or state agencies from abusing arrests to frighten civilians, it calls for the court to limit the number of consecutive First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against the same people.
The petition also requests that the Supreme Court establish limits on the capricious implementation of legislation and guarantee that no arrests take place without previous court notice. According to Dawn, it highlights the need of controlling the filing of formal complaints against PTI employees who take part in nonviolent demonstrations.
The petition highlights the excessive use of legal tools to suppress dissent and undermine public trust in democratic institutions by pointing to a pattern of state-led harassment.
