Rawalpindi court suspends eviction order for Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli

Judge says ETPB notice is illegal as matter is already pending before court

A local court in Rawalpindi suspended the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) notice, directing Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to vacate his Lal Haveli residence within seven days.

According to Express News, Additional Sessions Judge Khursheed Alam Bhatti on Tuesday announced the decision on Rashid’s application who had challenged the notice in the court through his counsel.

The former interior minister’s lawyer requested the court to suspend the authority’s notice which was issued to his client for “political victimisation”.

After hearing the arguments, the judge suspended the ETPB’s eviction order and summoned the deputy commissioner of the authority, saying that notice was illegal as the matter was already pending before the court.

Also read: Sheikh Rashid issued notice to vacate Lal Haveli within ‘7 days’

The court also allowed the petitioner to file an appeal against the ETPB’s order to vacate the Lal Haveli.

The ETPB had said in a notice that Rashid and his brother have lost the ‘legal possession' of the property as neither had they responded to the authority’s notice nor did they pay the mansion’s arrears.

The authority had also warned that it will use the police force to vacate the property if it was not vacated within seven days.

The administrator had also written a letter to the police, asking for their assistance on October 19 “to avoid any mishap”.