Justice Siddiqui says he would not allow desecration of graves
The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the government not to bulldoze private graveyard which falls in the way of the multi-billion metro bus project.
During a hearing of a case related to possible damage that could be caused to the graveyard, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui remarked that he would not allow the desecration of the graves.
The court ordered that the construction of the metro bus project should take place until the boundary of the graveyard, which is situated on a green belt on 9th Avenue.
In executing the project, the twin cities’ municipal administrations face resistance from the owner of the graveyard, which was going to be uprooted.
A legal battle between Rawalpindi’s civic agency and the graveyard’s owner started after he obtained a stay order against possible demolition.
Contractors began digging the green belt adjoining 9th Avenue, but 20 graves lie in the way. The graveyard, owned by Raja Kaleem, is where his family members have been buried since 1945.
According to media reports, Kaleem had earlier said that his family members had been buried in the graveyard for decades. The first grave was of his grandfather Raja Gulab Khan, who died in 1945 and the last burial was of his father Raja Ghulam Hussain, who died in April 2013.
The owner had claimed that the court had sought comments from the administration on May 7, after he filed a case.
CDA Municipal Administration (DMA) Director Hamza Shafqat had said if there was a family graveyard, the authority could not remove it, though it had restrained the owners from extending it.
Rawalpindi Commissioner Zahid Saeed, who is also the project director, had earlier claimed that he had already discussed the issue with the CDA chairman, who had assured him of his support.