RAWALPINDI: The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has lodged a case against the Auqaf department on the charge of encroaching on the land of a century-old temple in the city.

Sources said the Auqaf department had allowed a mosque located in the old wheat market, Kank Mandi, near the Rawalpindi railway station to repair a nearby water tank and construct washrooms there.

However, when the construction work started two days ago, officials from the ETPB arrived at the site and stopped it.

They also lodged an FIR with the Cantonment police against the Auqaf department on Friday.

ETPB registers FIR against Auqaf dept officials for allowing mosque to raze a water tank on temple land

When contacted, ETPB Regional Deputy Administrator Asif Khan told Dawn that the water tank was located on the temple land.

Though the temple is not being used, he added, as the custodian of the evacuee property the ETPB was responsible for its protection.

He said the FIR had been lodged against the Auqaf department on the charge of encroaching on the land of the temple.

He said the department was informed by local residents that Qari Younus and Qari Aman Ghafoor were razing the water tank to construct washrooms for the mosque there. He said a team from the ETPB reached the spot and asked them to stop the work but they refused forcing the ETPB to lodge a case with the police.

Mr Khan said in the recent past a government school in Raja Bazaar had also razed the building of a gurdwara and despite a court order started construction work on it. He said the ETPB was struggling to protect the evacuee trust against encroachers and needed the help of the police and the local administration.

The police confirmed that an FIR had been registered and investigations started, adding work at the property had also been stopped.

Auqaf department acting Regional Administrator Zahid Iqbal told Dawn that they had sought the help of the district administration for the demarcation of the land to resolve the issue.

“As per our record, the land belongs to the Muslim Auqaf and the mosque was constructed there in 1979. The Auqaf department gave permission to the mosque administration to construct washrooms for the mosque,” he said.

However, he admitted that the water tank was not a part of the mosque. “We are constructing a new water tank and washrooms for local people who visit the mosque for worship,” he said.

He said the area assistant commissioner had been requested to call a meeting of the Auqaf department and the ETPB and also check the revenue record of the district.

On the other hand, Punjab Majlis-i-Amal Tahafuz Haqooq Ulema o Mulazmeen Auqaf held a meeting and threatened to launch a protest if the ETPB did not take back its FIR.

“We will stage a sit-in in front of the ETPB offices if they do not withdraw the case,” said Maulana Abdul Rahim Abbasi, the president of the Majlis.

He said a dengue surveillance team had warned the mosque administration to repair the old water tank adjacent to the mosque as it had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

He said the mosque administration and the local residents had obtained permission from the Auqaf department for repairing the water tank.

Maulana Abbasi alleged that the ETPB had registered a false case against the prayer leaders of the mosque.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2018