A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday sought reply until August 1 on a petition filed by a Narowal landlord against Chenab Rangers Wing Commander Colonel Nadeem Ahmed Karim for not releasing his 6,700 sacks of wheat, which were illegally confiscated by Rangers.
The bench consisting of Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh was hearing a petition filed by Muhammad Asif, a resident of Tehsil Shakargarh, Narowal. On Wednesday, the court asked Rangers’ counsel Farooq Qureshi why the wheat of the petitioner had been taken into illegal possession from his fields at the time of the harvest? On this, the Rangers’ counsel sought time to file reply in the matter, which the court allowed.
The petitioner submitted that he owned agricultural land measuring 1,844 kanals and seven marlas near the border area but the respondent was not allowing him to harvest wheat crop on his land. He said that earlier in 2008, the petitioner had filed a petition in the LHC, on which directions were given to the authorities concerned not to disturb the petitioner’s work on his land. Farooq said that the petitioner had moved another petition in the LHC and a division bench on May 2, had directed the border area committee to allow him to harvest wheat crop on the land.
The petitioner alleged that Nadeem summoned him in his office and pressurised him to surrender ownership of the land. He said that the petitioner had approached the border area committee with an application for grant of status quo regarding ownership of the land and for preservation of wheat and other crops owned by the petitioner.
Farooq submitted that the committee had not taken any action on his application. He said that according to the court’s order, Nadeem had no authority to interfere in the harvesting process and remove corn/wheat from the land but Nadeem still interfered and did not allow the petitioner to lift the corn/wheat that stood heaped up on the land.
He requested that Nadeem be proceeded against under contempt of court for defying court orders.
