ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday stopped the politicians from placing their name plates on the state land. A two-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa conducted hearing of the petition of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) that the land near Saidpur belongs to the Board.
Justice Faez questioned that how the politicians could place their name-plates on the state land. He added that if any politician wants to give his land to the State then he is most welcome.
He said that the practice of putting politicians’ name plates on katchi abadi and State land should come to an end. The bench directed the SC office to send this order to the Punjab Chief Secretary, provincial government and the Advocate General of Punjab. The counsel for the ETPB informed that the federal government in 1992 had declared the land near Saidpur Road, Rawalpindi, as katchi abadi, and in 2008 Parvez Elahi as the chief minister Punjab, granted this land to the private individuals. He further informed that as ‘Dharam Shala’ was in the land of katchi abadi, therefore, it is the property of ETPB.
Justice Faez said that there is no evidence that this land belongs to the ETPB and neither the Trust claimed ‘Dharam Shala’ on this land of katchi abadi nor has it any proof in this regard.
The property was sold in the year 1992, in pursuance of the approval given by the social welfare federal minister in 1977, by the ETPB official later on the letter of the deputy secretary of the ministry. The ETPB challenged soon thereafter the sale deed on different grounds before different courts and finally, the matter was brought to the Supreme Court against the LHC judgment of January 1, 2022.
