Islamabad, Jun 2 (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday returned a petition filed by ousted prime minister Imran Khan's party seeking protection from the use of force by the government agencies against the party supporters during a planned rally in Islamabad.

Barrister Ali Zafar, on behalf of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf secretary general Asad Umar, on Wednesday approached the apex court for an order against arrests and use of force by law enforcing agencies against Khan's party workers.

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Khan wanted to make sure that his supporters could reach Islamabad unhindered for the rally which he had said would be used to force the government to call snap polls.

However, the registrar of the Supreme Court returned it, saying the matter was already decided on an "almost similar issue vide Constitution petition 19/2022" on May 25 when the court asked the government to let Khan hold a rally in H-9 area of Islamabad in return for a promise to remain peaceful.

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The court issuing orders in response to that petition had also barred police from arresting PTI leaders and workers taking part in the protest.

After the court's directive, the government allowed Khan to enter the capital with thousands of supporters but he refused to hold the rally at the designated place and asked his supporters to converge on the D-Chowk, which is located close to several important government buildings: the Presidency, the Prime Minister's office, the Parliament, and the Supreme Court.

Khan's supporters violently protested and police had to resort to teargas and baton-charge to keep them under control. Khan, who had planned to stage a sit-in until new elections were announced, abruptly called off the sit-in. However, he had threatened to return after six days if the government failed to give a date for snap polls in the country.

While returning the petition, the register said that the petitioner raised a "scandalous matter in paragraphs number 4, 5, 12, and 14" and observed that they were against court rules for petitions.

In the "scandalous" part of the petition, it was claimed that Khan's government was removed through a conspiracy and thousands of people were protesting against his removal.

Khan, who was ousted from power in April through a no-trust vote, has been claiming that the no-trust motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because his independent foreign policy and funds were being channelled from abroad to oust him from power. He has named the US as the country behind the conspiracy, a charge denied by Washington.

Earlier, Khan had pinned hopes on the apex court and announced on Wednesday that he would reveal his plan for protest after the court ruling.

After the petition was returned, he said that he would address a rally in the Dir area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday and announce his future course of action.

Apparently, Khan is in a fix as his “Azadi March” of May 25 failed to bring enough protestors to pose a threat to the government and he had to call off his plan for the sit-in at the last minute.

He tried to use the court so that he could tell his supporters to reach Islamabad without any hurdle. But the court refused to entertain the petition, leaving him to fend for his power base in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where his party rules.

He has been staying in the province for the last several days and addressing workers to motivate them to join him for the march on Islamabad whenever it is announced.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)