This weekend, Pakistan’s Peshawar High Court (PHC) stopped government officials from interfering in the work of a tobacco processing unit in Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, following a petition by business owner Mujeebur Rehman.
Rehman claimed his legally registered unit, which employs hundreds and supplies raw tobacco for cigarette manufacturing, was facing harassment despite tax compliance. His legal team argued that the deployment of Inland Revenue officers and Rangers, as well as the forced installation of surveillance equipment, violated constitutional rights and disrupted business operations during peak tobacco threshing season.
The PHC asked government respondents, including the Revenue Department and Federal Board of Revenue, to submit their replies while temporarily halting security personnel deployment at the site.