Chaudhry said, ”If TLP chief Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz can openly engage in hate speech, then peaceful groups should also have the right to express their thoughts.”
The Aurat March participants and organisers should be allowed freedom of speech “even if we may disagree with their viewpoint”, the federal minister added.
A day earlier, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had wrapped up a petition filed by Advocate Azhar Siddique against the Aurat March 2020 and issued orders for strict security to be provided to the participants and organisers.
#Pakistan #women’s March 2020:#Aurat March 2020: Lahore High Court Chief Justice says cannot ban freedom of expression https://t.co/JNEBF3I6lf
— Farahnaz Ispahani فرحناز (@fispahani) February 28, 2020
Advocate Siddique’s petition had claimed that Aurat March was “against the very norms of Islam”, that its hidden agenda is to spread “anarchy, vulgarity and hatred”, and that “various anti-state parties present who are funding this Aurat March with the sole purpose of spreading anarchy amongst the masses”.
Aurat March 2020: Mera Jism Meri Marzi
In a latest development, Six women ‘activists’ approached the Lahore High Court on Monday with a request to ‘regulate’ forthcoming Aurat March to ensure implementation of Citizen Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020.
“If the previous Aurat March is taken into account, it can clearly be observed that the so-called march is nothing but an anti-state activity aimed at tarnishing dignity of women and tarnishing the image of Islam,” said the women in a civil miscellaneous application they filed through Advocate Siddique to become party in the pending main petition.
The activists pleaded that they wanted the Aurat March to be reformed into an event that would provide basic knowledge to women of their rights and spread awareness regarding enforcement of their rights through seminars, workshops and positive slogans. The country witnessed its formal women’s’ rights march-Aurat March, this year in March. The rallies were held across the country in which enthusiastic women holding placards with different messages thronged the streets. The placard manifested their concerns and aspiration being a member of society