Selling shrine land: Civic authorities admit illegality

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Thursday admitted to illegally selling a shrine land in F-11 Sector but refused to vacate it and hand over to either of the two parties claiming to be its owners.

The two parties, one led by Syed Asad Ali Shah and the other by Zahid Hussain Kazmi, claim to be the descendants of a saint Baba Sakhi Muzammil Shah and the “rightful custodians” of his shrine and the adjacent 343 kanal graveyard land at Bhaika Syedan in F-11/3.

CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi on Thursday told a National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Division that that the committee’s earlier recommendations in favour of the two parties are “irrational and unlawful”.

“We have examined the recommendations of the committee and have found several anomalies,” he added.

He said that as per CDA record the land was awarded back to the authority on February 22, 1969. The chairman said that 12 plots from the land have already been auctioned. However, he said that the owners will be compensated by giving them plots in some other area. He added that one of the two parties in the dispute once termed by the Auqaf Department as the actual custodians will then be awarded five kanals for the shrine.

Elahi said that MNA Tariq Khattak had earlier approached CDA to cancel the plots and hand over the land to Kazmi, who is the head of Anjuman Darbar-e-Aliya Baba Muzammil Hussain Shah, a registered organisation that looks after the shrine.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued contempt notice to CDA officials and MNA Khattak on a petition filed by Asad and other residents of sector F-11/3 seeking contempt of court proceeding against them for non-implementation of a Lahore High Court order regarding encroachment on a 500-year-old shrine.

They have cited MNA Tariq Khattak, CDA chairman, director general planning, director enforcement, an assistant director of the capital territory administration, and Anjuman Darbar-i-Aliya as respondents.

The LHC on August 4, 2010 had directed the respondents “…to redress the grievances of the petitioner, conduct demarcation of the land and remove encroachment if any and protect the area of the shrine and graveyard.” The respondents were given four weeks to comply with the court orders.

The matter was discussed at the Parliament House by representatives of the two parties and the CDA chairperson among other officials earlier during the year.

Both sides levelled allegations against each other for using the land for commercial purposes. Asad’s group claimed that they had the family lineage since 1935 with a complete record of history and added that the LHC had already given a verdict in their favour. The other party claimed that Kazmi was the real heir of the saint and even registered an organisation which was looking after the shrine.

The committee chairperson, MNA Abdul Ghani Talpur, had contended that the issue be settled in court rather than by the committee.