Bushra Bibi moves LHC to avert possible arrest

• Plea condemns govt, provincial setup's action against Bushra Bibi.
• Bushra laments political victimisation in petition to LHC.
• Petition claims FIA, NAB, ACE Punjab, police keeping FIRs secret.

LAHORE: Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, has moved the Lahore High Court to stop authorities from her possible arrest and sought details of all the cases including undisclosed first information reports (FIRs) registered against her.

The former first lady approached the provincial high court on Monday via her counsel Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad Mohal with her petition contending the actions of the federal and provincial governments as well as law enforcement agencies — all of whom are respondents in the petition — following the "illegal" removal of her husband from the PM office after a vote of no confidence in April last year, The News reported.

Her petition stated that the respondents resorted to political victimisation against her, Khan and other members of their family with mala fide and ulterior motives, lodging several false and frivolous FIRs.

Bushra Bibi has pleaded that the respondents including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab and police, have been keeping the FIRs against her in secret to stop her from approaching the courts for seeking pre-arrest bail.

The petition argued that the respondents’ act of not disclosing the registered cases against the petitioner to her and concealing them instead, is illegal, unlawful, and violative of fundamental rights.

"That act of the respondents regarding lodging false, frivolous, baseless and concocted FIRs against the petitioner and to conceal 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 act of the respondents illegal and restrain them from arresting Bushra Bibi in any undisclosed case or inquiry.

It also urged the court to order the respondents to submit details of all cases registered against the former premier's wife. The hearing of the petition is fixed before the court of Justice Alia Neelum.