High court adjourns plea against 'Azadi March'.

LAHORE -- The Lahore High Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing of a petition challenging Azadi March by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and creation of a private group by its leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

At the outset of the hearing, a federal law officer submitted a reply on behalf of the Ministry of Interior saying the JUI-F militia/volunteer force namely Ansarul Islam had been abolished.

He said the provincial governments had also been entrusted the powers to take appropriate action against the bannned organisation under section 2 of the Private Military Organisations (Abolition and Prohibition) Act 1974.

The court adjourned hearing for two weeks and directed the petitioner-lawyer to file his rejoinder.

Advocate Nadeem Sarwar filed petition pleading that no private organisation was allowed to function as a military organisation as it was an offence under the law. He said Maulana Fazlur Rehman was using innocent children of seminaries for political motives against the government.

He said the respondent party had also been...