Habib Jalib’s daughter alleges bullying, extortion by officials who shut down her food stall; says was later offered ‘preferential treatment’

Legendary poet Habib Jalib’s daughter, Tahira Habib, who earlier made headlines for running a roadside food stall, has alleged being bullied, threatened and extorted by enforcement officials before being offered “preferential treatment” that she rejected.

Recalling what happened when municipal teams arrived at her stall in Lahore’s Karim Block Market area, Habib claimed that officials threatened her with severe consequences if her “dhaba was still there” the morning after the visit.

She added that enforcement officials also openly demanded weekly bribes to leave her alone, alleging that they “sought 5,000 rupees a week” for her to be left alone.

Habib also alleged assault against roadside vendors at the hands of municipal staff, adding that after she was harassed publicly and her stall shutdown, local administration officials visited her residence, brought breakfast and offered to allocate her stall anywhere in the city.

She said she turned down the offer, calling out the preferential treatment. “Why? Only because I am Habib Jalib’s daughter? […] But what about those whose stalls they break, who they beat, abuse, lock up, file cases against and prevent from working? Did they ever bring breakfast to their homes? Did they ever ask them, ‘We destroyed your business, broke your stalls and products, so here is breakfast for you’?”

She also challenged Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz’s stance on women’s safety. “The Chief Minister of Punjab claims that women are her red line, so why am I being prevented from working as a woman?”

On reforms aimed at regularising roadside vendors’ stalls in Punjab, Habib said that she applied for a space at the CM Model Cart Bazaar on June 3 at the Town Hall and Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office, but authorities failed to act on the submission.

Meanwhile, Haris Ali, spokesperson for the Lahore DC, stated that administration policy mandated zero tolerance for street encroachments.

He, however, added that officials were evaluating Habib’s application to place her in a designated model cart zone.