LAHORE - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Afzal Khokhar was arrested from the Supreme Court's Lahore registry premises Tuesday in a case of house-trespass.

The PML-N lawmaker was arrested after his appearance along with his brothers MPA Saiful Malook and Malik Shafi before a two-member Supreme Court bench which was headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar. The troika appeared before the court in a suo motu case regarding grabbing Lahore Development Authority (LDA)’s land and various people’s properties.

His counsel informed the court that his client had just now been told about an FIR registered against him under section 448 of PPC in Nawab Town Police Station.

The counsel requested the chief justice to direct police not to arrest the MNA till Wednesday as yesterday was a holiday and application for pre-arrest bail could not be moved. However, the chief justice shook his head and said, “If an FIR has been registered against him (Afzal Khokhar), let the law take its toll.”

Meanwhile, the chief justice turning to Saif Khokhar said, “Honour cannot be earned by grabbing properties of poor people nor becoming scoundrels and rascals rather it can be earned by serving the masses.” He then asked Saif, “Are you ready to launch a trust hospital or a dispensary in your locality to provide free healthcare for the deserving people.” He nodded in affirmative and said that the court’s order would be implemented.

The court was told that they had not vacated the state land of over 500 acres they got on lease which had expired years ago. The chief justice then turned to Malik Shafi and asked him about the matter but he could not give a satisfactory answer. The court then asked him if he was ready to give possession of the state land. He halfheartedly replied, “Yes.”

Then the chief justice ordered the revenue officials present in the court to get back possession of the land from the grabbers.

The chief justice also told them a story from Islamic history regarding a judge or Qazi who had summoned a ruler of that time and solved the matter on merit. The CJP quoted the ruler as saying while praising the judge, “If you would fail to do justice in my case giving undue relief to me for being a ruler, I would have terminated you from the office.”

He directed that a team comprising officials from revenue department, LDA and the deputy commissioner should conduct raid. He also ordered the Khokhar brothers not to create impediments in process of taking possession of 500 acre state land. The order says that if the hurdles were created by them in the process, the Supreme Court Registrar should immediately be informed.

The local police said that Afzal Khokhar was arrested for illegally taking into possession a 34-marla land of a citizen namely Tariq Mahmood a few years ago.

As per an FIR got registered by Mahmood against him in Nawab Town Police Station, Khokhar had built his home on the grabbed land. “I am giving lawyer Fayyaz Ahmed the authority to fight the case as I am residing in London right now,” he said.

Afzal was arrested soon after leaving the courtroom after hearing of a suo mot case.