Encroached playground: LHC summons top officials

Petitioner requests court to take action against respondents.

RAWALPINDI:

Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh of the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Friday summoned top officials in person to explain why a playground being used as a dumping site in Dhoke Syedan has not been cleared of debris.

Defence secretary, Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) chief executive officer (CEO) and Punjab education minister have been summoned on April 8, in response to an application filed by Anwar Dar, a resident of Dhoke Syedan, who sought action against them for not implementing court orders.

The court in October 2012 had directed the RCB CEO to clean up the playground while granting a stay order against auctioning the land. RCB has converted the green space into a dumping site while depriving children residing in the area of their only playground, said the petitioner.

Ephedrine scam

In another case, Control of Narcotics Substances Judge Arshad Tabassum deferred the ephedrine case till April 19, after the accused informed the court that the prosecution had not provided them copies of the charge-sheets.

On Friday, all the accused appeared before the court except Shahabuddin who was busy in an election campaign.

The Anti-Narcotics Force had been directed to provide the copies to the accused to enable them to prepare their defence.

On March 13, a trial court had decided to indict former MNA Ali Musa Gilani and former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin in the ephedrine case.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2013.