Islamabad, 4 June 2024, (GNP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday instructed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to unseal the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretariat, offering relief to the former ruling party.
“CDA may take action strictly in accordance with law in case of any non-conformity or violation of the applicable laws,” IHC’s Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz stated in a six-page written order.
This is the second significant relief for the party, as the IHC on Monday overturned the convictions of imprisoned founder Imran Khan and Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, which involved charges of mishandling a classified diplomatic document.
The court’s order stated that the CDA had issued a notice and a show-cause notice to the previous owner in 2022 and 2023, but it did not provide an explanation for issuing these notices.
The court further noted that there was no record of receipt of such notices, and the CDA had not given prior notice to the PTI before sealing its office.
Additionally, the sealing order was neither addressed nor copied to the petitioner, and there was no evidence of service of the order.
This development follows the PTI’s move on May 24 to seek the IHC’s order to unseal its central secretariat in the federal capital.
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The CDA had demolished a portion of the PTI Central Secretariat due to a “violation of building rules,” which drew strong condemnation from the former ruling party.
The CDA stated that its anti-encroachment team initiated an operation to remove illegal construction and encroachments.
In response, PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan filed a petition, naming the secretary of interior, the chief commissioner, the CDA chairman, and the IG Islamabad as parties in the case.
“In his petition, the PTI leader said, “Neither any order nor any notice was ever served upon the petitioner, hence, the impugned act of the respondents is due to malafide intention, blackmailing, without due process of law and violation of principle of natural justice and also contrary to Article 4 and 10-A of the Constitution.”
