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KARACHI, Sept 3: The Sindh High Court restrained the provincial government on Wednesday from transferring or creating third party interest in over 3,500 acres of land acquired by it in Malir from leaseholders for public purposes.
The interim orders were passed by Justice Ataur Rahman in two suits instituted by Aleem Adil Shaikh and Tariq Ali Qureshi in 1998. The plaintiffs claimed to have purchased leasehold rights from about 85 original allottees through general powers of attorney. The 10- to 30-year lease agreements were cancelled by the Sindh government, which decided to resume the land under Section 24 of the Colonization Act for low-cost housing projects in the newly-created district of Malir. The suit challenged the cancellation of agreements and resumption of land.
Contesting the maintainability of the suit, the government stated that one common stipulation in the lease agreements was that the leases could be cancelled and land resumed for public purposes on 30 days’ notice. The government had served the mandatory notices before resumption of land. No sale deed evidencing transfer of the land by the original allottees in their favour had been produced by the plaintiffs, who had also failed to pay the court fee. The court fixed Sept 25 as the next date of hearing and restrained the government in the meantime.
PLEA DISMISSED: Meanwhile, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Ghulam Rabbani dismissed a petition moved by a Firdous Colony (Nazimabad) resident against conversion of a park into school. The petitioner said an amenity plot was earmarked for developing a park in the colony in accordance with the master plan framework. However, the provincial education department decided to construct a school on the plot. He said there already was a federal government school in the vicinity and there was no need to build another at the cost of environment.
Appearing for the department, Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada submitted that no conversion was involved as the amenity plot was not being put to any other use. The department had undertaken the project on the demand of the residents of the locality. The school would pose no threat to environment, he stated.
REMANDED: Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the High Court of Sindh, who is also the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts for Karachi, on Wednesday remanded two accused — Shehzad and Abdul Jabbar — in custody of Anti-Violence Crime Cell till Sept 10, adds APP.
The accused were earlier produced before the AJ by AVCC officers seeking their physical remand in two cases of abduction for ransom.
According to the police, the accused abducted Ashfaq in the jurisdiction of Soldier Bazaar police and released him after one month after securing a ransom of Rs4 million.
The accused were also booked by the Clifton police for kidnapping Bilal in the Defence area, who was released after payment of Rs0.4 million.
The AJ perusing the remand papers remanded the accused in custody of AVCC till Sept 10.
