Illegal occupation by police: IHC asks Estate Office to get flats vacated in two days

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the Estate Office Islamabad to get all CDA flats in G-6 vacated within two days, which have allegedly been occupied by police personnel.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued the directive on Monday while hearing a petition filed by Ghazanfar Shah, a government employee, who sought possession of his flat located in Sector G-6. His flat is currently being occupied by a police constable, Ashraf.

On February 15, the same bench had directed the Inspector General Islamabad to get all the flats vacated by the police personnel.

Appearing on behalf of the housing ministry, Estate Officer Falak Sher informed the court that constable Ashraf resisted to vacate the flat when the Enforcement Directorate asked him to do so.

On this, Justice Siddqiui expressed serious concerns and ordered the police to arrest him from the premises of the court room.



However, Ashraf pleaded the court to give him two days time to vacate the flat.

Advocate Chaudhry Afrasiab, representing the police, argued that the police personnel have not occupied the flats; instead, they were allowed to stay in the flats by the interior ministry, after the Lal Masjid operation in 2007.

He said that a stay in this regard was also given by the court in 2011 while entertaining their stay plea.

The advocate said that the court had also directed the interior minister to issue allotment letters to the police personnel, however, the ministry did not comply with the court order.

He alleged that the Estate Office was giving allotment orders to other people on back dates after taking bribes.

He requested the court to accept the plea of clients to continue residing in the flats.

Justice Siddiqui, however, rejected his plea and observed that the Estate Office has become the hub of corruption. He directed the Estate Officer to submit a complete list of contenders on Wednesday (tomorrow) and asked him to vacate all illegal occupations.



The judge further passed the order that the housing ministry should not make any further allotments against the flats. The court observed that after the Lal Masjid episode, many other operations were carried out by the police, but it did not mean that the police start occupying flats, in the name of operation, illegally.

“We have to protect the rights of low-grade employees, who have been seeking allotments for many years. The Estate Office, instead of giving possession rights to the poor, has allotted the flats to the influential,” he remarked.

It is noted here that the police personnel have occupied over 210 flats in G-6, which were constructed by the CDA in 1997 at a cost of Rs250 million.

Besides the police, some CDA employees have also occupied the flats.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2013.