The Islamabad High Court (IHC), on Friday, lifted its previous judgement of outlawing Valentine’s Day celebrations.
In February last year, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the high court imposed a ban on Valentine’s Day celebrations in public spaces and government offices across the country. He had also prohibited the media from airing any content that promoted its celebrations.
However, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani heard a petition filed by an Abdul Waheed on Friday in this regard. The court heard arguments from the appellant as well as representatives of the information ministry, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The honourable judge then decided to set aside the previous ban on Valentine’s Day celebrations.
It may be pertinent to know that the petitioner, Abdul Waheed, had argued that Valentine’s Day was against Islamic teachings and traditions. He requested the court to sustain its decision to ban its celebrations and order PEMRA to stop television channels from airing promotional content.
Published in Daily Times, February 23rd 2019.
