July 15, 2006	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 18, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, July 14: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the tourism and culture secretary to solve the problem of a businessman whose business was stopped by the ministry.

Raja Iraj, a nephew of the former NWFP chief minister Raja Sikandar Zaman, had installed stone crushers near Taxila, but the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture, under article 28 of 1975 Antiquities Act, directed him to stop his business in order to save the antiques there from being damaged.

The owner took the matter to court.

The Supreme Court issued directives that the case be decided at a proper forum, i.e. the ministry of culture and tourism. But the ministry did not take any interest in resolving his problem.

As a result, Mr Iraj filed a petition before the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court, arguing that he had spent about Rs20.5 million on installing the machinery.

The petitioner’s counsel, Mian Gul Aurangzeb, informed the court that the Supreme Court decision had not been implemented so far. Closure of the business is a huge loss for the businessman, he further contended.

After hearing the arguments, the Lahore High Court judge, Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam, issued notice to the secretary culture and tourism and directed him to decide the case in the light of the apex court’s decision.