Koh-I-Noor’s Ownership: Court seeks Centre’s assistance

LAHORE: Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan of Lahore High Court on Thursday sought assistance from the federal government on maintainability of a petition seeking directions for the federal government for the return of Koh-i-Noor diamond from United Kingdom. The judge remarked that the court had to decide whether it had jurisdiction to issue directions to the queen. He sought assistance from the federal government counsel by February 25. Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffri had filed the petition. He said Koh-i-Noor was once the largest diamond in the world. He said the 105-carat stone was presented to Queen Victoria during the British Raj. He said British rulers, during their occupation of sub-continent had seized Koh-i-Noor from Daleep Singh, a grandson of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, and taken it to the UK. He said the federal government should ask the British government to return the diamond.   

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2016.