The Lahore High Court on Friday turned down PML-N’s plea to stop Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from holding a public gathering at the Lahore hockey stadium, directing the Punjab government to ensure that no damage is done to the stadium and the ground.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Attaullah Tarar has approached against PTI seeking direction to shift its August 13 public gathering to some other place.

The petitioner alleged that the stadium’s Astroturf was removed for the public gathering. “The removal and installation of Astroturf will cost millions of rupees,” he claimed.

During the hearing, Ata Tarar’s counsel said it is beyond understanding why they want to hold a rally in the stadium.

We are not stopping their rally, we are only asking them to hold a rally somewhere else, he added.

Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir asked the provincial law officer if the court directs to hold a public gathering at another place, can the government make the arrangements?

The law officer replied that a public gathering is being held inside the stadium owing to security reasons. Moreover, the government did not want people to deprive of their fundamental rights.

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To a query, the law officer clarified that the AstroTurf at Lahore’s Hockey Ground was not being scrapped for PTI public gathering. The removal of Astroturf was originally planned for March or April of this year but faced delays due to the revised PC-1 of the project. It is being replaced with a new one.

After hearing all sides, the court disposed of the petition with a direction to the government to ensure no damage is done.