A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court seeking directives for recovery of former Punjab chief minister Parvaiz Elahi’s principal secretary, Muhammad Khan Bhatti, and two others
Wife of Bhatti, Kausar Perveen filed the petition saying the detainees are being subjected to political victimisation and humiliation for their loyalty to the PML-Q. She sought the court directives to quarters concerned to trace, recover, and then produce two other detenues—Sajid Tanveer and Shahzad Akhtar—before the court.
She submitted that her husband had always discharged his duties in the most faithful manner and to the best of his abilities and had an unblemished career. Perveen claimed saying on account of the political background of his family and its affiliation with the PML-Q, her husband had been victimised by the coalition government headed by rival parties.
The petitioner further claimed that Bhatti informed her two weeks ago that, due to his affiliation, political rivals had decided to implicate him in false criminal cases and planned to authorise inquiries or register false criminal cases against him. She submitted that her husband also disclosed that people behind the move had planned to do this in a secret and clandestine manner so as to ensure he is unable to approach courts for seeking bail before arrest.
The petitioner added that she came to know on January 19, 2023 through media reports that her husband’s name was placed on a stop-list by an investigative agency.
After that he had filed a plea seeking removal of his name from the stop-list and sought further details of inquiries, if pending anywhere, and registration of any FIR, she added.
Following his plea, respondents including the director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the director-general of the anti-corruption department revealed records of the two FIRs registered against him.
The petitioner said her husband had contacted her the last time on February 6 and told her that some unidentified persons in plain clothes introducing themselves as officials of the FIA and Anti-Corruption Establishment have intercepted his vehicle and arresting him.
The other two detainees, Sajid Tanveer and Shahzad Akhtar, have not been in contact till today, she submitted.
She prayed the court to issue directions to the federal government, DG FIA, Punjab government, DG anti-corruption and Punjab IGP to trace, recover, and produce the detainees before the court.
