LHC directs ETPB to unseal Lal Haveli

RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench Monday directed the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) to immediately unseal the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli residence.

The ETPB had sealed the haveli in the wee hours of Monday with the help of police and FIA. Sheikh Rashid approached the LHC against the move, stating that the ETPB officials were “misusing their powers under the orders of political high-ups”.

The petition urged the court to declare the move “illegal, unlawful [and] contrary to the norms of justice” while also asking for the board to be restrained from “adopting coercive measures against the petitioners for their forcible eviction form the properties”.

Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf presided over the hearing during which the ETPB administrator appeared with the relevant records. He argued that Lal Haveli was not sealed but the adjoining property, local media reports.

Rashid protested to the claim, saying he was “an old man”. “I don’t lie. Lal Haveli was sealed,” he told the court. His lawyer also presented a photograph of the sealed residence to the court.

The judge reprimanded the ETPB administrator for not presenting a clear stance and directed the board to immediately de-seal the property. The court also directed the ETPB to resolve the matter after listening to the petitioner’s stance and disposed of the petition.

In a tweet, Rashid said the residence was “completely sealed in the dark of night” by the “bloodthirsty, who first shed blood of the government and now of Lal Haveli”. “The Rangers and FC [Frontier Corps] were asked for help but they refused. The haveli was then sealed with the help of FIA and police,” he claimed.

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) along with police and FIA officials sealed all seven units including two units of Lal Haveli and five adjoining units. AML workers reached the haveli and chanted slogans against the ETPB officials.

Well-placed sources told this reporter that Sheikh Rashid and his nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq were not present when the ETPB officials sealed the haveli. Both went to an unknown place to avoid their arrest, sources said.