Sisters of Aitzaz move court against Imran

ISLAMABAD: As Zaman Park has been encroached at multiple points, causing traffic blockade and loud music at night time, it is causing sleepless nights to the neighbours. This has happened after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan moved to his Lahore residence. Now two elderly sisters of Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan are approaching different forums to stop this practice but in vain.

They started with Imran Khan. On February 14, Dr Shireen Zafarullah and Mrs Nasreen Khalid Chima wrote the first letter to him on February 14 to inform him about “huge and unacceptable intrusion into our privacy being caused by the show outside your home.” Their father, Chaudhry Muhammad Ahsan, constructed the ancestral home in Zaman Park in 1933 well before Imran’s family was allotted the house in Zaman Park after the Partition. Ali, the son of Aitzaz Ahsan, also lives in that house besides the children of sisters of Aitzaz.

Not only is this (encroachment) significantly inhibiting the flow of traffic on the main Canal Road, their letter reads, and has virtually blocked the side lane serving our house but the constant noise from the loud music lasting till 4am every night is quite unbearable too. “This may possibly be acceptable to people who support your politics but you must appreciate that not everyone falls in this category. Where they hoped that Imran would do the needful to address their concern, they also reminded him that “such intrusion would never be permitted in any civilised society.”

The two sisters waited for four days before writing another letter to record their protest. “We were hopeful that after receiving our request, you would take immediate action but we are extremely disappointed to note that the tamasha continues unabated. Last night, for instance, the loud music went on until 4:23am. This shows scant regard for your neighbours. It is utterly unacceptable and leaves us with no option but to pursue legal recourse,” reads the second letter sent to the PTI chairman.

After they didn’t hear any plausible response, both sisters filed an application on March 8 against the illegal encroachment and to invoke The Punjab Sound Systems (Regulation) Act 2015, which is being violated. The application was addressed to Punjab chief secretary, inspector general of police, Lahore commissioner and SHO of Race Course Police Station. However, no action was taken by the Punjab government.

Finally, they moved the Lahore High Court, which didn’t entertain the petition either. One-member bench of Justice Asim Hafeez said they should locate a Justice of the Peace to pursue this matter. Responding to this, both sisters argued that being a high court judge, Justice Asim is also a Justice of the Peace and should therefore assume that role to address their grievance. In addition, they quoted a Supreme Court order against the encroachment and argued that the apex court had never referred such a matter to the Justice for the Peace.

The sisters have also written to the chief justices of the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court to take notice of the issue they are facing in Zaman Park.