The Islamabad administration imposed Section 144 in the capital territory for two months on Monday, less than a week before the PTI’s highly anticipated November 24 power show.
Section 144 is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period. Last week, several top PTI leaders were taken into custody from outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for violating Section 144 but were released shortly afterwards after being issued a warning, police had said.
Meanwhile, PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on November 24, denouncing what he described as the stolen mandate, the unjust arrests of people and the passage of the 26th amendment, which he said strengthened a “dictatorial regime”.
He called the protests a litmus test for the PTI and appealed for the active participation of the country’s legal community, civil society and overseas supporters.
According to a series of notifications issued by the office of Islamabad District Magistrate Usman Ashraf today, copies of which are available with Dawn.com, Section 144 has been implemented due to “certain segments of society” planning “unlawful assemblies … which can disrupt public peace and tranquillity”.
Public gatherings of five or more people have been banned in the capital, as gatherings such as the rally might “threaten public peace and tranquillity, cause public annoyance or injury, endanger human life and safety, pose a threat to public property, and … lead to a riot or an affray including sectarian riot within the revenue/territorial limits of district Islamabad”.
Moreover, according to the notifications, using sound systems to play “all kinds of objectionable/sectarian related speeches and sermons” has also been prohibited under the order. Similarly, the use of loudspeakers to antagonise “political/social groups/religious sects” has also been prohibited.
The district magistrate also banned firecrackers, the display of firearms by anyone other than law enforcement and security agencies, as well as the distribution of hand-bills, pamphlets and affixing of posters under Section 144.
In response to the notifications, PTI leader Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra said the ban on protests was “malafide and illegal” if it was imposed every time Imran called for a “peaceful protest”.
Meanwhile, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh visited seven districts and met with lawyers from the Karachi Bar Association, inviting them to participate in the march, according to a press release issued by PTI’s Sindh media cell.
“The Karachi Bar Association has always played a pivotal role in defending the judiciary and upholding the law, especially in opposing the 26th constitutional amendment,” Sheikh stated.
He further criticised the government, alleging it of undermining judicial authority through the 26th constitutional amendment.
“If the judiciary cannot deliver justice, the country risks descending into a state of anarchy,” he warned.
Additional reporting by Imtiaz Ali.
