Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, has petitioned the Lahore High Court to prevent her arrest and to obtain information on all cases against her, including undisclosed first information reports (FIRs).
The former first lady approached the provincial high court on Monday through her counsel, Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad Mohal, with her petition disputing the actions of the federal and provincial governments, as well as law enforcement agencies — all of whom are respondents in the petition — after her husband’s “illegal” removal from the PM office following a vote of no confidence in April last year.
According to her petition, the respondents used political victimization against her, Khan, and other members of their family for malicious and ulterior motives, filing several false and frivolous FIRs.
Bushra Bibi has claimed that the respondents, which include the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab, and police, have kept the FIRs against her secret in order to prevent her from approaching the courts for pre-arrest bail.
The petition argued that the respondent’s failure to disclose to the petitioner the registered cases against her and instead concealing them is illegal, unlawful, and a violation of fundamental rights.
“That act of the respondents regarding lodging false, frivolous, baseless and concocted FIRs against the petitioner and concealing the FIRs numbers, police stations, districts, dates and provinces clearly indicates that the respondents intend to arrest the petitioner without providing an opportunity to get the relief from competent courts of law in the shape of anticipatory bails and pre-arrest bails and to get the FIRs secret against the petitioner at the behest of the respondents is not warranted by law, so law and justice demand that the respondents be directed to submit list of all criminal cases registered against the petitioner throughout in Pakistan, so that the petitioner may approach the competent courts of law, for redress of her grievances,” the petition read.
It asked the court to declare the respondents’ actions illegal and to prevent them from arresting Bushra Bibi in any unspecified case or investigation.
It also asked the court to order the respondents to provide information on all cases filed against the former premier’s wife. The petition will be heard before Justice Alia Neelum’s court.