IHC orders de-sealing of PTI secretariat

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz ordered the PTI Central Secretariat be opened immediately and directed the party to make fire prevention arrangements in the building.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Latif Khosa advocate and others appeared in the court. Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz inquired whether a notice was issued before sealing the building. The Metropolitan Corporation’s counsel, while presenting the public notices of 2017 and 2018 in the court, said that a notice was issued to the secretariat in the morning and the building was sealed in the afternoon.

The court said that the Metropolitan Corporation had sealed the building by giving a three-hour emergency notice. “What was the emergency?” she asked.

The Metropolitan Corporation’s lawyer said that the corporation could seal a building even without a notice. “Earlier, buildings were sealed like this, then the person contacts us,” he added.

Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz said that if it continues to be wrong, it does not mean that it will be correct in this case as well. “If these people did not approach the court, then it cannot be justified. Action can be taken only after execution of the regulations,” the court observed.