Thaksin Shinawatra Granted Freedom, Plans Dubai Trip

The Lahore High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking permission to hold a public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan. Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf announced the written decision on a petition filed by Mian Usman Akram. The petitioner had asked the court to allow the party to hold a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan. He argued that refusing permission for the gathering violated the constitutional right to peaceful assembly. The petition referred to Article 16 of the Constitution. The article protects the right of citizens to assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law. The court, however, noted that the right to peaceful assembly does not mean that every gathering can be held without following the relevant legal procedure. Under the applicable law, permission for a public gathering is granted through the relevant administrative authorities. The deputy commissioner is responsible for considering such requests and issuing an NOC where required. During the proceedings, the government’s lawyer informed the court that a meeting had already been held under the deputy commissioner to consider the PTI’s request. The meeting reviewed the security and law and order situation in the area. Officials recommended that the proposed rally should not be allowed because of security concerns. The written judgment also noted the nature of Minar-e-Pakistan as a public place. The court observed that the site is regularly visited by citizens for recreational and other public activities. According to the government’s submission, the deputy commissioner had already taken a decision on the PTI’s application. The request for permission to hold the rally was rejected on August 3. The court observed that the administrative authority had already decided the matter. Therefore, the petition could not be entertained as a request for permission that was still pending before the deputy commissioner. The Lahore High Court consequently dismissed the petition.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi arrived in Karachi on Monday to preside over a two-day sitting of the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry. Following his arrival, the Supreme Court issued the official cause list outlining the benches that will hear a wide range of civil and criminal cases during the proceedings. According to the cause list, Bench No. 1 will be headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and include Justice Musarrat Hilali. The bench will hear several important civil and criminal matters listed before the Karachi Registry over the next two days. Bench No. 2 will comprise Justice Muneeb Akhtar and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail. The judges will hear cases assigned to them under the published schedule and dispose of pending matters brought before the court. Bench No. 3 will consist of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi. The three-member bench is also expected to hear a number of civil and constitutional cases during the two-day session. The Karachi Registry is scheduled to hear a variety of petitions and appeals filed by individuals, government departments and private parties. The hearings are part of the Supreme Court’s regular judicial work aimed at ensuring timely disposal of pending cases across the country. Lawyers and litigants are expected to appear before the respective benches according to the published cause list. The two-day sitting will provide an opportunity for the court to hear several pending matters and issue rulings in accordance with the law. The Supreme Court periodically holds sittings at its regional registries to improve access to justice and reduce the backlog of cases. The Karachi Registry remains one of the court’s busiest benches, handling a significant number of legal disputes from Sindh and surrounding areas. During the current session, the three benches will conduct hearings simultaneously to ensure efficient disposal of cases listed before the court.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked more than 1.54 million URLs linked to prohibited and unlawful content on social media platforms, according to official documents. The documents show that 1,065,671 URLs related to immoral content have been blocked. Another 563 URLs in the same category are under review, while 9,528 have been rejected. In the terrorism-related category, 179,285 URLs were referred for blocking, of which 141,897 URLs have been blocked. A further 23,241 URLs are currently under review. The documents also reveal that 136,891 URLs related to content deemed against the sanctity of Islam were processed by the authority. Similarly, 125,427 URLs concerning content considered against Pakistan’s security and defence were processed. Of these, 74,059 URLs were blocked. The PTA also processed 76,526 URLs under the category of sectarian and hate speech. In the proxy category, the authority processed 10,319 URLs, blocking 10,318 of them. Under the defamation and impersonation category, 44,200 URLs were processed, while 17,356 URLs were blocked. According to the documents, a total of 1,542,800 URLs across various categories have been blocked. Meanwhile, 76,874 URLs remain under review, while 106,629 URLs have been rejected. The figures reflect the PTA’s ongoing efforts to monitor and restrict online content that falls under Pakistan’s prohibited-content regulations.