Daily Times

A writ petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday seeking details of undisclosed or new first information reports (FIR) on or after May 9 registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The petition was filed by Meher Bano Qureshi, daughter of Qureshi, in which the chief secretary and inspector general police (IGP) Punjab and her father were made respondents. She also requested the court to direct the concerned quarters to give protection of law to her father and not to arrest him in any new criminal case registered on or after May 9 without prior permission of the court. Mehr Bano also contended that hundreds of politically motivated and unlawful FIRs have been registered against her father, other PTI leaders and workers, adding that thousands of the PTI workers have been picked up and are being “illegally” detained.

The petition added that the whereabouts of many workers are unknown, stating that all of these developments amount to grave violations of the petitioner’s rights under different articles of the Constitution. “The petitioner seeks the protection of this court from the most audacious assault on fundamental rights launched by any executive of this country in furtherance of the most constitutionally abhorrent objective; to prevent or delay elections required by the constitution in order to ensure that the largest political party in Pakistan may be prevented from the participating or winning such elections,” added the petition.

Mehr Bano also maintained in the petition that she has learned that a number of (undisclosed) criminal cases have been registered against her father and there is an apprehension that her father may again unjustifiably be arrested in the mentioned undisclosed new criminal cases.

On May 23, IHC ordered the release of the PTI leader after he submitted an undertaking to the court. However, just hours later he was re-arrested by Punjab Police from outside the Adiala Jail.