The Lahore High Court on Thursday took strong notice of setting up a police station on a piece of mosque land and sought a detailed report from the inspector concerned and the mosque administration by December 22.
On Thursday, the Kahna station house officer, Sarfraz Shah, appeared before the court and insisted that the disputed land was part of the police station. The judge asked why the construction of a mosque had been allowed on the land, if it belonged to the police station. The SHO replied that the mosque was initially built on the police station premises, but later Maulana Akbar, the prayer leader, occupied it as well as some adjacent land. He said that Maulana Akbar’s demand that the old police station should also be handed over to him was unlawful.
The judge was sceptical and remarked, “How is it possible for someone to occupy land owned by a police station?”
The petitioner, Maulana Akbar, contended that the mosque was constructed before inception of Pakistan. He told the court that the city government had decided to demolish it to widen the Lahore-Kasur Road and rebuild the mosque on an alternative location nearby.
The responsibility for its reconstruction was handed over to the Auqaf Department, he said. The court adjourned the hearing for December 22 and sought reports from all stakeholders.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2011.
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