Lahore High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to stop this year’s Aurat March from taking place.

Justice Shahid Kareem announced the reserved verdict on Monday, ruling that the petition, filed by a citizen named Azam Butt, was not maintainable.

The petitioner had argued that the signs displayed at the Aurat March were not acceptable in an Islamic society and the court should ban the event.

Butt maintained that if a group believed it was being denied its rights, they should approach the court.

The petition had also argued that that the march could pose a risk to law and order, as it had done in the past.

Lahore’s deputy commissioner and other government officials had been made parties in the petition.

The Aurat March takes place each year on March 8, celebrated globally as women’s day.

The theme for this year’s march in Lahore is ‘Siyasat, Muzahamat aur Azadi’, with a focus on calling for broader and more inclusive political representation.