ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court has issued notice to Inspector General Police (IGP) Islamabad over a case relating to the encroachment of public land in a private housing society by a senior minister.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued a seven-page order against the encroachment of state land by the Park View Housing Society owned by Punjab minister Aleem Khan. The court directed the Registrar to send the notice to the concerned authorities.
The court has sought an explanation from the IGP Islamabad for the failure to lodge a case against the encroachment. It also restrained the Deputy Commissioner and other authorities from harassing the complainant.
The court has directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to submit a detailed report at the next hearing. while the Deputy Commissioner will appoint an officer to assist the court. The CDA has failed to submit a satisfactory explanation over the encroachment of state land.
During the hearing, Justice Minallah asked how a senior minister in the Punjab government used state land to connect his housing society to the main road and asked why the facility was not given to other private housing societies.
The chief justice said it was a violation of constitutional rights to not take action due to the political influence, adding that revenue staff and police had failed to perform their duties.
The housing developer has claimed that they constructed the road on land allocated for this purpose, but CDA has claimed that the land was not meant for a road.
The complainant has lodged a case seeking the registration of an FIR against Punjab minister for land encroachment, and for harassment by the CDA and Islamabad Police. The next hearing for the case is on 13th August.
The CDA had allowed constructing the road in May 2018 to connect it to the main Kuri Road. During an earlier hearing in November 2019, the IHC had asked CDA to justify permission granted to the private housing society to utilise the acquired land.
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