The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday restrained the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) from taking any coercive action against Model Town Extension residents, who have challenged the cancellation of their house ownership rights by the authority. Admitting the petitions for regular hearing, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed issued notice to LDA, directing it to file a reply by May 4. LDA’s counsel, Salman Mansoor, who was present in the court, received the notice.
Tariq Javed, Anjum Nazir Butt, Atif Iqbal, Muhammad Tauhid, Nusrat Naseem and others filed petitions through counsels, Rana Asadullah Khan and Shahzad Shaukat. Petitioners stated that they had purchased plots In Model Town Extension, which the LDA had established in 1996 after acquiring private land, and constructed houses on those plots.
They said all the transactions of the property purchase were on record with the department concerned and all required dues were deposited in the name of LDA Estate Management director. They said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated an inquiry against LDA officers for their alleged irregularities in allotment of the plots in Model Town Extension.
In the light of NAB’s inquiry, LDA cancelled the ownership rights of their properties and started dispossessing them without any notice or granting opportunity of hearing. Demolishing work started on properties of many residents, however they obtained stay orders from civil courts. They pleaded that the LDA’s said orders were illegal. They prayed the court to set aside the orders and restrain LDA from taking any action against their houses.
LHC moved for barring Musharraf from politics: A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday to restrain former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf from taking part in politics and banning his political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). Rana Ilmddin filed the petition submitting that the Supreme Court (SC) had declared Musharraf as guilty of treason due to which the former president could not form any political party and become its chief.
The petitioner clubbed the petition with his earlier petition in which he levelled 15 allegations against the 67-year-old former president. Ilmddin submitted that the former president dismissed an elected government on October 12, 1999, sold Pakistan’s national interests to the US, violated the constitution on November 3, 2007, detained superior judges, killed Baloch leader Akbar Bugti, ordered military operation at the Jamia Hafza, tortured and killed lawyers, handed over Pakistanis, including Dr Aafia Siddiqui, to the US for sake of money and put the country into a deep crisis.
The petitioner requested the court to charge Musharraf for the said allegations and try him for allegedly committing high treason under Article 6 of the constitution.
