Until further orders, Court stops ETPB from taking over Lal Haveli

RAWALPINDI: Additional District and Sessions Judge Khursheed Alam Bhatti Monday suspended the process for vacation of Lal Haveli till further orders.

The judge summoned director Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) with complete record on Tuesday (today). Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed challenged the notice to vacate the Haveli on Monday. The court has warned the ETPB against taking any action till further directions.

Sheikh filed an appeal with the court for suspension of the vacation process. On October 11, 2022, the board issued a notice to Sheikh Rashid asking him to vacate the land and rooms adjacent to his Lal Haveli residence within seven days.

The notice said the AML chief and his brother Sheikh Sadeeq had lost the “legal possession” of the property, as they neither responded to the authority’s earlier notice nor paid the outstanding rent.

The ETPB administration also warned that it would use police force to get the property vacated in case of non-compliance within seven days. The ETPB had also informed commissioner and deputy commissioner about the notice and requested them to help vacate the property.

Sheikh’s lawyer told the judge that this issue was already in the court and the notice was only ‘political revenge’. Earlier, Rashid tweeted, “All the departments failed to find anything against me. After probing 16 ministries, they have come up with three-marla Lal Haveli. Lal Haveli is not nine-zero … it’s a history that no one can erase.”