Elderly woman to get back plot occupied by land grabbers
President Arif Alvi pictured during his interview. SCREENGRAB
President Dr Arif Alvi has directed the Islamabad deputy commissioner to restore the possession of the 10-marla property to an elderly lady, whose property had been allegedly occupied by land grabbers in the Bara Kahu area.
The president upheld the orders of the Federal Ombudsman for Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace (FOSPAH) and gave these directions while deciding upon a representation filed by Malik Abdul Majeed and others against the orders of FOSPAH, the President Secretariat’s Press Wing said in a press release on Tuesday.
As per details, Munawar Bibi (complainant) had filed a complaint before FOSPAH under the Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Act, 2020 saying that Malik Abdul Majeed and Jawad Shoukat (petitioners) belonged to a “Qabza Mafia” and had illegally taken possession of her plot by erecting a boundary wall around it.
The FOSPAH passed the orders in her favour and directed the DC Islamabad to restore possession of the complainant.
The petitioners preferred a review petition which was rejected on the ground that it had been proved that Munawar Bibi was the owner of the property and it was transferred in her name through the registered sale deed in 1979 and its entry had also been made in the revenue records.
The FOSPAH had directed the station house officer (SHO) of Bara Kahu Police Station to take steps to restore possession, take assistance from Patwari Halqa on the spot, and use all legal means in connection with the restoration of the plot to the complainant.
The petitioners, then, filed a representation before the president claiming that they were the owners of the plot and the land of the complainant was entirely different from theirs, but the FOSPAH had failed to appreciate this fact.
The president rejected the representation of the petitioners on the ground that the representation had been filed after a delay of one month and 25 days when it should have been filed within 30 days of the receipt of the order.
He observed that since the petitioners had not averred anything about the date of the receipt of the orders, thus, the representation was hit by the bar of the limitation.
“Needless to observe that in case, any issue of proper identification of property arises, the same may be addressed in the implementation process,” he said. President Alvi concluded that the representation was not only time-barred but also devoid of merits and directed to implement the orders of the FOSPAH.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2023.