–Top judge says govt removed Addl AGP Nayyar Abbas Rizvi from his post for ‘speaking the truth’
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Thursday noted that regularisation of Bani Gala is facing delays due to the involvement of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the case.
The CJP made the remarks during the hearing of the case pertaining to regularisation of land in and around Bani Gala, an affluent suburb of Islamabad.
PM Imran’s counsel Babar Awan was absent during Tuesday’s proceedings and the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Nisar, was informed that Additional Attorney General Nayyar Abbas Rizvi, who was assisting the court with the case, has been removed.
Upon this, the chief justice further remarked that any individual who stands for justice has been removed by the government.
The top judge said that Nayyar was removed from his post for “speaking the truth”.
Rizvi’s replacement, Deputy Attorney General Nayyab Gardezi appeared before the bench and sought time for the preparation of the case. The bench, however, decided to take up the matter after recess.
As the hearing went underway, Chief Justice Nisar inquired, “What is the update regarding regularisation of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s residence and has he submitted a request for it?”
“Is there a delay in the regularisation of properties only because of Imran Khan?” the top judge further questioned.
As the hearing progressed, Justice Nisar further sought details of those who have applied for regularisation of their properties and those who have deposited the regularisation fee.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman informed the court, “Over 100 applications have been received.”
At this, the chief justice questioned whether further information and documents have been sought from the applicants.
Furthermore, the court was also informed by the deputy attorney general that, “We were given the file of the case after a delay.”
The chief justice then asked him to look over the file and said that the court will take up the case after a break.
At an earlier hearing, the chief justice said construction was allowed in Bani Gala’s Zones 3 and 4 without a master plan.
The CJP had earlier said, if the Capital Development Authority (CDA) plans on building a new city in the suburbs, it shall have to buy the land and pay compensation.
The properties will be demolished if their owners failed to pay the regularisation fee, he added.
The additional attorney general informed the apex court that the premier had submitted a request along with a map to regularise his Bani Gala mansion. PM Imran’s defence counsel had argued that the regularisation charges were too high.
However, the CDA had halted the process of regularisation of PM Imran’s estate, raising 14 major objections on the application.
A CDA letter dated November 20 stated that there were several missing links in the prime minister’s application seeking the regularisation of his house.
According to the letter, Khan along with his application and documents did not provide the certified copy of mutation/register Haqdaran-i-Zameen (Fard) issued by the tehsildar.
“The only photocopy provided was of the old Fard Inteqal in the name of Jemima Khan. No proof of ownership in the name of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (was submitted),” said the letter.
Until Imran Khan provides requisite documents, his case for regularisation of the palatial building cannot be processed further, CDA letter says.
It added that the attested copy of the computerised national identity card of the owner (Imran Khan) was required for processing the regularisation while the person processing the case was also required to have an authority letter from the owner.
The CDA said along with his application the prime minister had submitted unsigned sketches of the building which were not acceptable for the purpose of regularisation.
Earlier, the SC had said that it was the job of the PTI government to regularise all properties in the area, including the residence of PM Khan.
The top court had ordered authorities to demolish all encroachments around Korang riverbed in the light of a report drafted by the Survey of Pakistan.
