Land for playground: Court halts construction of school

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has ordered to stop the construction of a school building on land in Takht Bhai, Mardan set aside to establish a playground.  A bench, comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, heard a writ petition filed in the high court on Friday by Asghar Khan against the construction of a school on 17 kanals of lands in Takht Bhai, Mardan. The land was originally gifted to establish a playground. Seth remarked 90% of schools do not have grounds where morning assemblies can be held. This has affected extracurricular activities. The court ordered SHO Takht Bhai to submit a report in this regard. The petitioner’s lawyer Mushtaq Ahmad Mohmand said Asghar Khan was the grandson of former chief minister Mir Afzal Khan who had gifted the land to promote sports and other extracurricular activities. After hearing the arguments, the bench ordered the education department to stop construction on the school.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th,  2016.