KARACHI: Litigation over the preservation of the Chawkandi graveyard took a dramatic turn in the Sindh High Court on Monday when the petitioner disputed the official claims regarding the area of the 16-century cemetery.

Agha Syed Attaullah Shah, chairman of the non-governmental organisation Raah-i-Rast Trust, who moved the SHC through a constitutional petition for preservation of the historical site, told a two-judge bench that the historic graveyard was spread over 57 acres as mentioned on the websites of the national archaeological department and Unesco.

He was responding to the claims of the superintendent of the survey department who said that the cemetery was spread over 25.5 acres.

The petitioner disputed the official claim and submitted that the area of the cemetery was being shown less by the authorities in order to defend the illegal encroachments on the historical site in violation of existing rules and regulations.

The bench comprising Justices Irfan Saadat and Zafar Ahmed Rajput directed the respondent authorities to file a detailed and comprehensive report regarding the actual size of the Chawkandi graveyard.

The bench also directed the provincial government law officer to resolve the issue of the area of the graveyard within 15 days and submit a report in this regard.

The superintendent of the survey department and the deputy commissioner of Malir were also directed to appear in court on the next date of hearing, which would be later announced by the court’s office.

The petitioner submitted that the cemetery was spread over 57 acres and it was a precious national heritage site.

He said some influential persons were stealing the carved stones from the graveyard to use them as decoration pieces in the drawing rooms of their houses.

He said the influential people had encroached upon the land surrounding the graveyard and was using it for commercial activities including building hotels and offices of truck stands.

He said that despite the fact that the graveyard was precious national heritage and preserved under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994, the provincial government did not take any action to stop these illegal activities.

He asked the court to issue directions for the authorities concerned to take action against illegal encroachments on the site.

In his petition, he said that the culture and heritage department had failed to comply with the court orders regarding the submission of a map of the graveyard’s total area and a report on its efforts for preservation of the site.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2015

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