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On Thursday, Pakistani-French fashion designer Mehmood Bhatti alleged that he was manhandled in a civil court by a group of lawyers at the behest of his brother, who also happens to be an advocate.

“I ask the chief justice what will happen to overseas Pakistanis?” he said speaking to the reporters at the Lahore High Court (LHC). The fashion designer said he travelled from Paris and spent Rs1.4m to appear in the high court.

Referring to his brother, he said, “The senior lawyer has filed 23 cases against me.”

Mr Bhatti alleged that his lawyer-brother had been threatening him, claiming that he knew everyone and that nothing could be done against him.

Litigation is pending before a civil court between the fashion designer and his elder brother, Advocate Munir Bhatti.

Mehmood Bhatti said the land had been allocated for an orphanage yet he was not being allowed to proceed with the work. He said he had been travelling from Paris to Lahore to attend the court proceedings for the last four years but there was no end in sight.

He demanded action against the senior lawyer. He alleged that at least 30 lawyers attacked him at a previous hearing in the civil court, and he regretted that no action was taken against the lawyers involved in the attack.

Munir Bhatti filed an appeal before the LHC against the denial of the right to cross-examine a witness in the property case.

The petition was filed before Justice Ali Baqar Najafi’s court; however, the hearing was adjourned without any progress.

The LHC has already suspended the proceedings of the case pending in the civil court.

Originally published in Dawn, February 14th, 2025