PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the federal government not to interfere in the operations of a tobacco company, which has challenged the deployment of security personnel and installation of CCTV cameras at its green leaf threshing unit in Mardan.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal sought response of federal interior ministry and Federal Board of Revenue to the petition filed by M/S TMC (Tobacco Manufacturing Company)-2 Re-drying Factory through its proprietor Mujeeb ur Rehman.

The bench fixed Aug 26 for next hearing of the petition wherein the petitioner has requested the court to declare as unlawful and unconstitutional the deployment of armed personnel of civil/paramilitary armed forces, including that of Pakistan Rangers under the control of the ministry of interior at the premises of the petitioner.

The petitioner sought declaration of the court to the effect that the deployment of the said personnel and interference by the respondents in its day-to-day industrial operations of the petitioner amounted to executive overreach and abuse of power as the same was in absence of any lawful notification under the relevant fiscal laws or authorisation from a competent forum.

Company insists deployment of security personnel on its premises illegal

He requested the court to declare that no tax authority, officer or agency acting under or in aid of FBR may deploy armed personnel or demand the imposition of any further surveillance infrastructure such as raising encampments, outposts or picket at the sole expense of the taxpayer, unless expressly sanctioned by laws and duly notified.

The petitioner further prayed the court to declare that it was under no legal obligation to provide lodging, boarding facilities or administrative control to any such ‘unauthorised’ personnel and that such financial or operational burden imposed by the respondents was illegal.

The respondents in the petition are the federal government through secretary revenue division, ministry of interior through its secretary, FBR through its chairman,

FBR’s chief commissioner Peshawar, deputy commissioner IR corporate zone, chief transformation delivery unit Islamabad, and project director track and trace system (TTS) FBR House.

Advocate Hazrat Bilal Khan appeared for the petitioner and stated that through Tax Amendment Act, 2025, the government had conferred sweeping powers upon tax authorities, including but not limited to the authority to arrest or detain taxpayers and to directly withdraw alleged tax liabilities from the bank accounts of taxpayers without due process.

He stated that the respondents had recently introduced mandatory integration system for tobacco industries, which in essence amounted to stringent surveillance mechanisms.

The counsel stated that the respondent (chief transformation delivery unit), without any legal justification issued a letter on July 10, 2025, to call all GLT units, including that of the petitioner’s, to install CCTV cameras at their respective premises and to provide full and unrestricted access to respondents for monitoring purpose.

Mr Bilal stated that the respondents without any legal justification deployed so-called watch and ward contingent from civil armed forces with heavy arms in civvies at the premises of the petitioner, who were roaming in and around the premises.

He stated that when asked for any legal justification, the respondents had cited a notification issued on July 15, 2025. However, he stated that the said notification was neither relevant to GLTs nor authorised deployment of armed forces at ordinary businesses.

He argued that this unauthorised deployment had created an environment of intimidation and fear among the petitioner’s employees, severely disrupting the normal course of industrial operations.

He contended that the Pakistan Rangers functioned under the administrative control of the ministry of interior, which had no legal nexus with tax collection or revenue enforcement.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025