Court stays eviction of PTI’s Insaf House

A senior civil judge on Wednesday stayed the execution proceedings for the eviction of the building that served as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s city headquarters.

Senior Civil Judge/Rent Controller (South) Aamir Latif Bhatti gave this stay order on an application filed by intervener Arsalan Khalid, general secretary of the PTI’s Karachi chapter. The judge noted that as per the record, the applicant, owner of the building, had filed a rent case against three individuals -- Dr Arif ur Rehman Alvi, Naeem Ul Haq, and Imran Ismail -- based on a rent/tenancy agreement. He said the case was heard and decided ex parte on March 30, 2024 while on May 6, the applicant filed an execution application, which was also allowed ex-parte on February 24, 2025 and a writ of possession was issued. Subsequently, he said that the bailiff reported partial execution as three rooms of the premises had been handed over to the owner.

“It is evident from the record that Opponent No. 2, Mr. Naeem Ul Haq, had passed away prior to the filing of the rent case, raising a fundamental question regarding the maintainability of the proceedings against a deceased individual,” the judge observed.

“The inclusion of a non-existent party not only undermines the integrity of the case but also casts serious doubt on the accuracy and validity of the ex-parte orders obtained by the applicant.”

He said that the intervener presented a rent agreement executed between the applicant and PTI House, which contradicted the rent agreement relied upon by the applicant during the ex parte proceedings.

The judge said that in rent proceedings, the general practice was to adjudicate possession matters through execution proceedings rather than granting status quo. However, he added given the peculiar circumstances of this case where procedural irregularities, potential misrepresentation, and conflicting agreements had been brought to light the court deemed it necessary to maintain the status quo temporarily.

He explained that this measure was essential to prevent any irreversible consequences and to uphold the principles of justice until the matter is fully clarified. “Accordingly, the execution proceedings shall remain stayed until further orders to ensure that no party suffers undue prejudice,” he ruled.

Barrister Ali Tahir, who represented the intervener, stated that Arsalan Khalid, being the PTI Karachi general secretary, was responsible for overseeing and managing all party-related affairs in the metropolis. He said that the owner of the building had knowingly made serious errors in filing the rent case by incorrectly naming three private individuals as opponents instead of making the party through its secretary general as opponent despite being fully aware that the premises were rented to the PTI.