–CJP gives Lahore deputy commissioner week’s time to hand over land illegally grabbed by Mansha gang to rightful owner
LAHORE: The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday gave the Lahore deputy commissioner a week’s deadline to hand over to its rightful owner the land recovered from alleged land grabber Malik Mansha Khokhar, widely known as Mansha ‘Bomb’.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar issued the orders at the Lahore registry while hearing a petition of an overseas Pakistani, Mahmood Ashraf, against Lahore police’s purported inaction against Mansha, whom he had accused of grabbing his property illegally.
CJP Nisar also replaced the civil judge assigned to cases pertaining to overseas Pakistanis on receiving a complaint that the judge was disrespectful towards the plaintiff but politer to Mansha and his counsel.
The chief justice came down hard on DIG Operations Waqas Nazir and summoned the provincial police chief as well as the Lahore deputy commissioner.
“Is this the police of Naya Pakistan?” Justice Nisar asked. “Police should have some shame. They are called names and yet they defend thugs.”
DIG Nazir argued that it was police which had arrested Mansha ‘Bomb’ and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi. He assured the court that the police were following its orders in letter and spirit.
The clarification, however, did not satisfy the CJP, who summoned Mansha ‘Bomb’, Afzal Khokhar and all those who were trying to influence the case.
“Police are unable to overcome a single Mansha ‘Bomb’,” Justice Nisar remarked. “You are hand in gloves with gangsters, this is how you ensure the implementation of the law? What is your relationship with Mansha ‘Bomb’? Why are you trying to protect him?”
“You will not leave in uniform if proven guilty,” the chief justice warned the DIG operations.
The chief justice also reprimanded Inspector General of Punjab Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi for his force’s conduct.
When the top cop claimed that police was doing a “fantastic job”, Justice Nisar reminded him that “Mansha ‘Bomb’ had surrendered in my court”.
Meanwhile, Mansha ‘Bomb’, on his turn, started weeping in the courtroom and pleaded the judge for mercy. “You did not think about crying when you were grabbing others’ land,” the chief justice said. “Don’t you have the fear of God?”
At one point, the chief justice had also considered summoning Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, noting: “Where is the chief minister? He had claimed with quite an authority that grabbed land would be retrieved.”
On Oct 2, 2018, the Lahore administration had launched a grand operation against encroachments, retrieving illegally possessed land, including around 80 kanals possessed by Mansha ‘Bomb’ in Johar Town worth Rs5 billion.
On Oct 4, 2018, an investigating officer had told the court that Mansha ‘Bomb’ had gone underground since the SC ordered a crackdown on land grabbers.
On Oct 15, 2018 Mansha ‘Bomb’ was taken into custody from the apex court after he had gone there to “surrender” himself.