LAHORE, Dec 15: MNA Abid Sher, the son of former Faisalabad mayor Chaudhry Sher Ali, has challenged his detention through a constitutional petition filed at the Lahore High Court on Monday pleading that he is being politically victimized.

The petition, filed through Advocate Naseer Bhutta, says that political activity is a fundamental right which is enshrined in the Constitution and any punitive action on the basis of such activities amounts to a violation of human rights.

According to him, he belongs to the party which is opposed to the Musharraf government. It held a political activity about two weeks back and he, along with others, were charged with breaching public peace, an accusation which the government has fabricated under its whims and which cannot be proved.

The petitioner is being detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and kept at the district jail in Multan. He has prayed to the high court that his detention be declared illegal and he be set at liberty.

The PML-N MNA is a co-accused in a case along with his father Chaudhry Sher Ali, his brother Aamer Sher Ali and 15 other party activists in a case which was registered by the Factory Area police of Faisalabad after they spoke at a public meeting about three weeks back. Abid Sher was later allowed a pre-arrest bail by a sessions court of Faisalabad.

The Lahore High Court also ordered the quashment of the FIR under 16 MPO against him. He was also arrested and taken to a place which was then not known to the family.

Consequently, his brother Aamer Sher Ali later filed a habeas corpus petition for the recovery and production of his brother in the court. The high court issued notices to the Punjab government asking it to inform the court about the whereabouts of the MNA. This petition was taken up on Monday and the court was informed by his counsel that the PML-N legislator was being detained at the Multan jail. He also informed the court that the detainee had filed a writ petition challenging his detention.