ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered release of the owner of a private housing society detained along with six suspected land grabbers by the district administration under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).

The IHC set aside the detention of Chaudhry Abdul Rehman, owner of Ghouri Town. Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that MPO was introduced during the colonial era but it is still being used to legitimate detention.

The police have registered cases against Rehman, his partner Raja Usman, Mohammad Nazak, Raja Farooq, Riazul Hussain, Farmanullah and Ansar Mehmood.

The district administration issued the detention orders of the alleged land grabbers in response to a directive from the prime minister.

During the prime minister’s telephonic interaction with citizens, a man complained that he was a retired official and owned a piece of land at Ghouri Town. He said his land had been occupied by land grabbers and he was unable to retrieve it.

The PM then directed the capital administration to take action against the land grabbers.

In the petition, Mr Rehman maintained that he was a businessman and a regular taxpayer. He conceded that he had been nominated in a number of first information reports (FIRs) which he termed bogus and baseless.

According to the petition, registration of an FIR could not be a ground for issuance of his detention order under the MPO.

As per the notification issued by the district administration, the alleged land grabbers were detained for a period of three months.

The notification said Mr Rehman was facing seven FIRs related to land grabbing, possessing illegal weapons, extended threats and harassment.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2021