LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to restore within 10 days an amenity park in the Gulberg area to its original condition, which was earlier partly encroached upon to build a carpeted road to facilitate the residence of defunct finance minister Ishaq Dar.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had taken a suo motu notice of the encroachment of the park in H Block of Gulberg III to convert a single-lane road into a double-lane one outside the residence of Mr Dar.

In compliance with the court’s notice, LDA Director General Zahid Akhtar Zaman appeared before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court at the Lahore registry and conceded that the former finance minister had requested him on behalf of the community to construct the road.

But he had no answer when asked to justify the utilisation of a public park to construct the road. To another court’s query, Mr Zaman said that around Rs2 million had been incurred on the construction of the road.

LDA told to restore amenity facility to original condition

Chief Justice Nisar observed with regret that the bureaucracy had become personal servant of political rulers. “What kind of officer are you, who ruined a park only to please a minister,” the chief justice asked the LDA chief.

The chief justice also expressed dismay when Mr Zaman said he had not visited the place and just asked the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency to resolve the issue of parking outside the residence of Mr Dar.

During the hearing, a report aired by a private television channel about the encroachment of the park was also exhibited in the court on an electronic screen projector.

At one point, the chief justice decided to refer the matter to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), but exercised restraint as the LDA director general repeatedly tendered his apology.

The chief justice observed that the court could order the recovery of the amount to be incurred on the restoration of the park from the personal bank accounts of the defunct finance minister.

The LDA chief said Mr Dar was out of the country and his bank accounts had been frozen because of pending NAB references against him.

The chief justice directed Mr Zaman to restore the park to its original condition and submit a compliance report within 10 days not at the state’s expense rather from his own pocket or Mr Dar’s.

The chief justice also issued a notice to the former finance minister through press publication since he was out of the country.

The bench also comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan adjourned the hearing to April 7.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2018