The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday vacated the status quo order with regard to the possession of flats in Sector G/6.
A single IHC bench Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan resumed hearing of the case filed by more than 50 petitioners seeking allotment of the illegally occupied flats.
The IHC had granted a stay order on August 4, 2011 upon the petitioners’ plea. However, none of the petitioners appeared in court during Wednesday’s hearing.
Capital Development Authority (CDA) Legal Adviser Tanveer Awan appeared in court and appealed to vacate the stay order as the petitioners had been illegally residing in CDA-owned flats. Upon this, the court vacated the stay order and adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period.
The flats in questions are situated in Sector G/6 and more than 200 have been occupied by officials of Islamabad police and other government employees.
CDA built the flats 14 years ago to provide housing facility to low income groups but they were not able to benefit from it. Earlier, the flats were occupied by victims of the 2005 earthquake, who were later forced out by the CDA and police. Interestingly, the officials of the Islamabad Police who helped CDA get the flats vacated from illegal occupants, settled into the flats themselves. Later, in 2007, the remaining flats were opened for those police officials engaged in the Lal Masjid operation.
But the police did not leave even after the end of the operation.
The CDA had also approached the Interior Ministry to get these flats vacated, but to no avail.
After successfully getting the flats vacated, the CDA would hand them over to the Ministry of Housing for allotment to federal government employees.
