HYDERABAD: The Military Estate Office (MEO), Hyderabad circle, responding to allegations of excesses against its rivals in a property dispute pending adjudication has repeated its claim that the property in question is “defence land”.

Speaking to Dawn on Monday, Hyderabad circle Military Estate Officer Mohammad Farooq explained that that Panhwar Goth [where the disputed land is located] is an illegal settlement and according to the general land registration (GLR) no such village existed during the colonial era. There were only three villages — Tando Mai Mahan, Tando Jehnaniya and Channa Goth — on the record, he claimed, adding that the claimant of about 153 acres and 17 ghuntas, Peeral Panhwar, could not establish his title for land in court. He said the land “has been reserved for future needs of armed forces”.

Mr Panhwar accuses the MEO of constantly making attempts to dispossess inhabitants of Panhwar Goth, situated off Thandi Sarak, especially his family claiming to having the proprietary rights of certain lands constituting Arab Panwhar Goth, which has been named after his father. According to him, he and his family members were being harassed by police while his sons, well-wishers and several villagers had been booked/detained/arrested under false cases. The two sides had been in the litigation since 1980.

Explaining the MEO’s position, Mr Farooq said that ancestors of Peeral Panwhar — Arab Panwhar and Mitho Panwhar — had taken defence land for cultivation purposes in the pre-partition days. They were given short-term leases twice between 1938 and 1946 for a four-year term each. “They [tenants] kept cultivating the land during this period and after expiry of lease they filed a civil suit in 1980,” he said.

Through the suit, the plaintiff claimed rights over 153 acres and 17 ghuntas in Deh Faujgah. He alleged that Peeral Panwhar’s claim was based on “forged revenue documents”. He recalled that the civil suit was dismissed by the court concerned on Nov 21, 2005 but an appellate court then remanded the case back to court. Then it was heard by court again and dismissed by Third Senior Civil Judge Qazi Shah Mohammad Azhar on April 23, 2012.

“Now an appeal has been filed against the verdict in the sessions court. The appellate court has not granted any stay order,” he said.

“Of course we are raising some civil structures to contain continuous land grabbing by Peeral Panwhar,” the officer said when asked as to why the MEO, too, was making construction on the land. “There used to be a few illegal huts of tenants [haris] during the period of the short-term leases,” he said.

Mr Farooq said that the MEO had issued notices to plaintiff on June 7, 2013, June 6, 2014 and Oct 21, 2014 requiring it demolish illegal structures raised by it.

Regarding the alleged excess against the litigant family by the MEO through local police, Mr Farooq said that his institution had nothing to do with police or their actions.

‘MEO cannot dispossess occupants’

According to Arbab Ali Hakro, the counsel for appellant Arab Panwhar, the appeal is being pursued by his legal heirs, including Peeral Panwhar.

“The appeal is continuity of the suit. Even if the suit is decreed in favour of the MEO, they cannot go and take possession of the land. It requires execution of such a decree by way of a legal process,” Mr Hakro said.

He contended that the MEO would have to file an application for the execution of the decree in court instead of attempting to dispossess villagers. The hearing of the appeal has been fixed for July 13,” he said.

Litigant’s son found in unlawful confinement

A sessions court official acting upon a directive of the judge concerned raided the SITE police station on Monday and found Rasool Bukhsh Panhwar, the younger son of Peeral Panwhar, kept in wrongful confinement in the lock-up.

The court official, Karim Sahto, was assigned the task on an application filed by Khan Bibi, the step mother of Rasool Bukhsh Panhwar.

She stated in her application, filed through her lawyer, Advocate Ayaz Tunio, that her son was picked up more than a week ago although he was on bail in the FIR [48/15] registered on behalf of the state at the GOR police station. Earlier, the GOR police denied having detained him.

After recovery of the victim from the SITE police station, the court official asked the SHO concerned to appear in court on Tuesday to explain his position.

The SHO, when contact, told Dawn that Rasool Bukhsh Panwhar was detained “in connection with a theft case”.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2015

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