LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to submit CCTV footage of alleged police raids as part of the official court record.
The decision was made by Justice Khalid Ishaq while hearing a petition filed by senior PTI member Akmal Khan, who sought judicial intervention against what he termed illegal police actions targeting party supporters.
In his petition, Khan requested the court to restrain police officials from conducting raids and harassing PTI workers and supporters involved in mobilizing for the party’s August 5 protest.
The petitioner named the Inspector General of Police Punjab, the CCPO Lahore, DIG Operations, and the Station House Officers (SHOs) of Shahdara and Ferozwala (District Sheikhupura) as respondents. He argued that the alleged police actions were in violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
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Citing constitutional protections, Khan submitted that every citizen has the right to move freely within Pakistan, reside in any part of the country, and assemble peacefully — subject to reasonable legal restrictions in the public interest.
He further argued that citizens also have the right to form or join political parties unless such activities are declared prejudicial to national sovereignty or integrity by the federal government and later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Justice Ishaq, while accepting PTI’s request to include CCTV footage as evidence, noted that any material relevant to the alleged harassment and unlawful actions by police may assist the court in assessing the facts of the case.
The court will continue proceedings after examining the submitted footage and hearing responses from the concerned police officials.
