Evacuation order: Oilseed board wins court reprieve

PHC stays evacuation orders for the Pakistan Oilseed Development Board from the 4,000 kanals of land it leases.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has stayed evacuation orders for the Pakistan Oilseed Development Board from the 4,000 kanals of land it leases.

The stay orders were issued on Wednesday by a two-member bench of the high court comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah on a petition filed by the board.

The board pleaded that the 4,000 canal land owned by the Auqaf department was leased to it till 2011 under an agreement where it grew olive plants with heavy investment. The harvest is expected by 2012, but the Auqaf department has issued evacuation orders in violation of the agreement.

The board prayed the court to pronounce these orders unlawful.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2010.