A Pakistani court today ruled that a blockade organised by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's party in the country's northwest to stop NATO supply trucks bound for Afghanistan was illegal.
A two-judge bench of the Peshawar High court gave the ruling in response to a petition filed by trader Haji Lal Khan.
The trader had challenged the blockade of NATO supply routes by workers of political parties, including Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.
The court further said the government should safeguard the right of freedom of movement along with other rights.
The trader's lawyer, Shah Nawaz, argued that the blocking of NATO routes was adversely affecting the interests of businessmen like his client who exported goods and items to Afghanistan under the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement.
Nawaz asked the court to declare the blockade illegal.
The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf set up camps at five points in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on November 23 to prevent the movement of NATO supply vehicles. The blockade was organised to protest US drone strikes in Pakistan.
