ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to de-seal the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretariat, providing relief to the former ruling party.
“CDA may take action strictly in accordance with the law in case of any non-conformity or violation of the applicable laws,” stated Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz in a six-page written order.
This is the second major relief for the party, as the IHC on Monday annulled the convictions of jailed founder Imran Khan and the party’s Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case, which involved charges of misusing and misplacing a classified diplomatic document.
The court order noted that the CDA had issued a notice and a show-cause notice to the previous owner in 2022 and 2023, but failed to provide an explanation for these notices. Furthermore, there was no record of receipt of such notices, and the CDA did not issue a prior notice to the PTI before sealing its office.
The order also mentioned that the sealing directive was neither addressed nor copied to the petitioner, and there was no evidence of service of the same.
This development follows the PTI’s move on May 24 to seek the IHC’s intervention to de-seal its central secretariat in the federal capital.
The CDA had demolished a portion of the PTI Central Secretariat over alleged “violation of building rules,” which drew strong condemnation from the former ruling party. The CDA claimed its anti-encroachment team initiated an operation to eliminate illegal construction and encroachment.
In response, PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan filed a petition, making the Secretary of Interior, Chief Commissioner, CDA Chairman, and IG Islamabad parties to the case. In his petition, the PTI leader asserted, “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 the principle of natural justice, and is also contrary to Article 4 and 10-A of the Constitution.”
