Twelve workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been sentenced to six months in prison by two separate courts in Islamabad for staging a protest on November 26 without official permission.
The convictions came in three separate cases registered under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order (PAPO) Act—two at Ramna Police Station and one at Tarnol Police Station. Judicial Magistrate Ahmed Shehzad Gondal issued verdicts in the two Ramna cases, while Judicial Magistrate Mureed Abbas ruled on the Tarnol matter.
Out of 13 accused, one individual was acquitted, while the remaining 12 were found guilty of participating in an unlawful assembly.
The courts ruled that the demonstration lacked prior approval, constituting a breach of public order regulations. The prosecution, led by Special Public Prosecutor Muhammad Usman Rana, argued that the protest did not qualify as a peaceful or constitutionally protected gathering.
Rana asserted that the demonstration sought to exert unconstitutional pressure on the government, justifying state intervention to preserve public order. He emphasized that while peaceful protest is a right, it is subject to legal boundaries under national and international frameworks such as the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
“When the law is violated,” the prosecutor stated, “there must be consequences.”