ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has pointed to serious violations at Bari Imam House in Nurpur Shahan, saying the property is an unauthorised encroachment on land acquired in 1963 and that no building by that name exists in its official revenue or acquisition record.
The authority has filed an application in the Islamabad High Court seeking an early hearing of the writ petition filed by the premises’ caretaker, Mohammad Akmal, and has decided to challenge the interim order that currently shields the structure from demolition, according to a Dawn report.
The CDA sealed Bari Imam House on Oct 30 in a joint operation with the district administration, claiming the structure stands on government land and was among properties identified in its anti-encroachment drive.
On Nov 3, the IHC issued notice to the respondents and directed them to file reports and para-wise comments within two weeks.
It also granted a mandatory injunction directing officials to “forthwith de-seal” the premises and restraining them from carrying out any “demolition” until the next hearing. The petition is presently fixed for Jan 18, 2027.
In its application, the CDA says the mandatory directions were passed on the first date of hearing without obtaining or considering its report and comments. It has raised serious objections to the maintainability of the petition, particularly regarding the petitioner’s locus standi and alleged entitlement to invoke constitutional jurisdiction.
The authority says the entire area of Mauza Nurpur Shahan was acquired under Award No. 4/DC CDA/1963 and that compensation and admissible benefits were paid to landowners. The land comprising Khasra Nos. 435, 582, 591, 592 and 593 formed part of that acquisition, and the 1963 record contains no mention of any Bari Imam House on it.
The CDA further states that the shrine land is recorded on entirely different Khasra numbers – 277, 665, 677, 678, 679 and 680 – in the name of Darbar Aalia Hazrat Bari Abdul Latif Shah. That land, it says, is across the road and distinct from the acquired land both in location and revenue record.
The premises described by the petitioner neither form part of the shrine nor fall within the Darbar’s land, the authority maintains, adding that the subject land vests in the CDA and the petitioner has no lawful right, title or interest in it. His occupation, the application says, is wholly unauthorised and amounts to encroachment.
The caretaker’s petition claims the house, located opposite the shrine of Hazrat Bari Imam Sarkar, comprises a mosque and a Langarkhana. It says the land was exempted shrine property that was never acquired, no award was announced, and no compensation was paid. It alleges the premises were sealed without notice or hearing and that an Auqaf Department board was installed at the gate, in violation of constitutional provisions.
The CDA argues that the petitioner’s claims raise factual controversies that cannot be examined in constitutional jurisdiction and that continuation of the interim order affects its statutory functions.
It has prayed that the matter be fixed in the week commencing Nov 9, 2026, instead of January 18, 2027. The application was filed through Kashif Ali Malik, Advocate, Supreme Court.
Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2026
