MANSEHRA: The lawyers have moved a local court seeking a stay order against the federal government’s plan to cancel the project approved by the last PML-N government in 2017 for the establishment of an airport in Sawan Mera area of Mansehra district.
“The previous government led by the PML-N had acquired over 5,000 kanals of land for this airport project before releasing Rs320 million funds but the current deputy commissioner wants to stop payments to the people, whose land was acquired,” president of the district bar association Basharat Abid Khan told reporters after filing the petition with the court on Saturday.
A group of lawyers led by Mr Basharat submitted the petition to senior civil judge Bilal Tanoli, who summoned the deputy commissioner of Mansehra and others concerned to appear before the court on March 21 to respond to the petition.
Local court summons DC, other officials on matter
Mr Basharat said the federal government had issued a letter to the deputy commissioner stopping him from making payments to landowners and returning the allocated project funds clearly showing that it wanted to cancel the project.
“The federal government wants to cancel this mega project approved by the previous government to cater to the air travel needs of the people directly or indirectly related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects and tourism in Hazara division. We will legally resist any such move at all available forums,” he said.
The petitioner said landowners wanted the immediate release of due payments.
Another lawyer, Arif Tanoli, wondered how the federal government could cancel the huge airport project, which was highly important for the people of Hazara division after the execution of CPEC-related mega projects.
BODY FOUND: A man, who had gone missing last month, was found dead in Galgrain area of Kaghan valley here on Saturday. Mohammad Iftikhar had left home for work but didn’t return prompting the family to report his disappearance to the police. The police said the killers dumped the missing person’s body in a house.
The body was handed over to the family after the competition of medicolegal formalities at the Balakot civil hospital.
The Kaghan police registered an FIR and began search for culprits. Also in the day, the anti-corruption establishment arrested Ishaq Shah over a land fraud. The ACE claimed that Mr Shah impersonating the landowner’s son got a piece of land transferred in his name. It said the arrest was made on the competition of an inquiry ordered by the provincial ACE director.
Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2019