The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Monday, while hearing Sheikh Rashid’s plea against sealing of the political centre of Awami Muslim League (AML) Lal Haveli by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) over “illegal occupation”, directed the authorities to dispose of the matter within 15 days.
Earlier, Advocate Sardar Raziq Khan, on behalf of the AML chief, submitted the plea and urged the court to hold an urgent hearing, which was accepted.
During the hearing, the ETPB’s administrator told the court that Lal Haveli was not sealed but adjacent property -- seven units -- were sealed after teams of the board along with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) personnel arrived there. The court snubbed the administrator for not providing compelling arguments and directed him to dispose of the Lal Haveli matter within 15 days.
In a post-hearing media talk outside the court, the AML chief said the court had also directed the ETPB that the road to Lal Haveli would not be blocked.
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Earlier, taking to Twitter, the former minister claimed that Lal Haveli was his “personal property” and it had a “central secretariat for public service”. He said he didn’t receive a notice prior to the action, adding that sealing the Lal Haveli was an act of fascism and terrorism.
“If it is proven that Lal Haveli is not our personal property, we should be declared national criminals,” Mr Rashid said, claiming that the government took this step after it failed to find anything against him.
The former federal minister said a case pertaining to the ownership of the Lal Haveli was already fixed for hearing on Feb 15.
Addressing media outside the Lal Haveli, Mr Rashid said Lal Haveli was a part of the "history" which was against [former military leaders] Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan and was also against the current government. He said the haveli s security was withdrawn earlier, adding that "the [government] first gathered all the forces and then planned to arrest me".
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The seasoned politician alleged that Asif Khan was following the instructions of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and warned the authorities concerned that he could stage a sit-in outside Lal Haveli and could shut down the entire city if he wanted.
Meanwhile, the ETPB disputes Sheikh Rashid’s ownership claims of Lal Haveli. It said the property was owned by the trust in the record books.
“Previously, we were of the view that the registry of a 3.5-marla unit (out of the eight) as claimed by Rashid may be genuine. But when we probed into it, it was revealed that the legal owner of unit No D-158 is the ETPB. This is the same property against which Sheikh Rashid’s brother moved an application in 1995 with the ETPB for renting it out to him under the law,” a senior official explained while talking to Dawn.
“The registry is in the name of Rashid’s brother. We have asked the revenue department to provide further details,” he added.
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