G-6 flats re-occupied: SSP ordered to arrest police officials

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ordered Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Yaseen Farooq to arrest eight police officials, who have re-occupied government flats in Sector G-6, after they were evicted.

The IHC single bench headed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui passed the order after the IHC assistant registrar, who had been appointed as inquiry officer to verify the status of the flats, informed the court that eight police officers have reoccupied the flats, which they had earlier vacated on court orders.

He told the court that the majority of police officials, who have been living in the flats since 2007, have been granted stay by the Supreme Court, but the eight officials in question have re-occupied the flats without obtaining a stay order.

Justice Siddiqui, while expressing concern over the issue, observed that “This is a slap on the face of the judiciary.”

The judge said that the Estate Office was rife with corruption.

“The attempt by police and estate officials to mislead the court will not be tolerated and contempt proceedings will be initiated against them.”

The judge also expressed displeasure over a report by Inspector Haq Nawaz, which stated that 55 flats had been vacated by police officials on the court’s order.  Justice Siddiqui remarked that if the police adopted such tactics, law and order would be adversely affected.



The court directed SSP Farooq to lodge an FIR against the police officials and to produce them before the court on Tuesday (today) so that contempt proceedings could be initiated against them.

The court also ordered the housing secretary to initiate departmental inquiry against the estate officer, who helped the police officials re-occupy the flats

The IHC, on March 20, had ordered illegal occupants to vacate all government flats. The court had observed that the flats would be handed over to legitimate applicants strictly in accordance with the general waiting list and Estate Office rules.

Over 210 flats in Sector G-6, near Aabpara, were constructed by the Capital Development Authority in 1997 at a cost of Rs250 million.

Earlier, victims of the October 2005 earthquake were temporarily housed in the flats. Shortly before the Lal Masjid operation in 2007, policemen began to occupy them.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2013.