PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police not to ‘illegally act’ against an absconding “criminal”, who was recently arrested in Bahrain with the help of Interpol and is likely to be sent to Pakistan.

A bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Inamullah Khan issued the order after preliminary hearing into a petition filed Bagh Meena, mother of the alleged criminal, Mumtaz, to seek orders to stop the respondents, including the KP police, from taking any “illegal and adverse action” against her son, including his extrajudicial killing in any fake encounter during his transfer to Pakistan, custody and investigation.

It fixed July 2 for next hearing with the direction to the respondents to ensure that no illegal action was taken against that person.

The petition includes as respondents federal interior ministry, KP home secretary, police chiefs of KP, Baluchistan and Islamabad, Peshawar capital city police officer, the director general Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and station house officers of different police stations in Peshawar.

Advocate Shabbir Hussain Gigyani appeared for the petitioner and stated that the family of his client was having blood feud in the area and certain FIRs had been registered against the petitioner’s family members, including her son, Mumtaz.

He claimed that apart from those cases, the police had also nominated him in some untraced cases.

The lawyer claimed that Mumtaz was abroad and on June 16 he surrendered before the Interpol in Bahrain.

He said that the petitioner’s son would be transferred to Pakistan and handed over to the local police in those cases.

Mr Gigyani alleged that in light of the history of extrajudicial killings, especially in fake encounters and in “dummy crossfires” during the accused’s transfer, investigation and pointation, the petitioner feared the same illegal and unlawful treatment with her arrested son.

He contended that everyone, irrespective of their bad conduct, was entitled to due process of law, life, liberty and dealing of his rights as per the law and not otherwise.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026