PHC order: K-P authorities evict Peshawar's Afghan Market

Peshawar High Court hands over possession to local citizen who had won the case

PESHAWAR: The possession of a long-disputed Afghan Market has been handed over to a citizen named Shaukat Kashmiri on orders of Peshawar High Court on Wednesday.

Kashmiri had filed a case in Peshawar High Court (PHC) claiming ownership of the Afghan Market which was established on a plot adjacent to the Afghan Consulate in Peshawar.

The court had ordered Peshawar deputy commissioner to ensure implementation on the verdict given in Kashmiri’s favour and to hand over possession of shops in the related market to the applicant.

In connection with a court order, the operation was conducted under the supervision of high officials of district administration while the police were also present on the site to maintain law and order.

To avoid any mishap the road was closed for traffic while a hotel was demolished during the operation. Although an official of the Afghan consulate reached the site and claimed that the market was the property of the Afghan government and pleaded not to seal it, the operation continued.

The city authorities removed the Afghan flag and proprietorship board from the market that had existed for decades.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2019.