Super Market shopkeepers appeal to CJ

Islamabad : As many as 22 shopkeepers of Super Market, Islamabad, who were evicted from their shops under Rent Control Act, have appealed to Chief Justice Saqib Nisar to direct the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to lease or rent out these shops to the evicted shopkeepers, says a press release.

Although these shops have been evicted under Rent Control Act but during hearing in the Supreme Court it was divulged by the CDA that it was an amenity plot which was allotted to the owner on lease. The amenity plot was meant for a swimming pool for the resident of Islamabad under the Master Plan.

The owner, allegedly in connivance with the CDA officials used a side of the plot to construct a building which he rented out in 1982 on goodwill (pagri) to the tenants. He allegedly got approved a provisional building plan as well from the CDA.

The affected shopkeepers along with President of Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajiran Pakistan Muhammad Ajmal Baloch spoke at a press conference at National Press Club to highlight the issue.

Ajmal Baloch told reporters that the building owners received rent for more than 35 years from these shopkeepers which is in hundreds of millions of rupees.

He said when the greed of the owner did not end here but he even sold out the entire first floor of the questionable building constructed on an amenity plot and earned more than half a billion rupees.

“Where will those who have spent money on the purchase of shops on first floor go if the court decides the case against the owner?” He questioned.

The President of Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajiran also pointed out that out of 22 evicted shopkeepers seven were members of the Minority Hindu community who had shifted to Islamabad from Thar and other parts of Sindh.

He said these people set up handicraft shops in Super Market.

“These handicrafts are manufactured in rural areas of Thar and other areas of Sindh and hundreds of villagers will be denied of a source of income if these shops are closed,” he said.

Ajmal Baloch said that the Supreme Court has now taken suo moto notice of the illegal use of the amenity plot. “We request the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan to cancel the lease of the owner of the building and order the CDA either to issue lease of these shops to the evicted shopkeepers,” he said adding: “The shopkeepers are also ready to pay the market rent decided by the honourable court to the CDA if the lease is cancelled.”

He said shopkeepers were peaceful and law abiding citizens and they handed over the keys of their shops to the court registrar without any hesitation.

He said it was not a question of the livelihood of only 22 families but hundreds of families which include some 100 families of employees of these shopkeepers as well as hundreds of those families making handicrafts in the rural areas of Sindh.

“Our appeal is on humanitarian ground and we expect that the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan will provide relief to the affected families.

At this occasion, a Hindu community member and evicted shopkeeper Ramesh also spoke and told reporters that majority of handicrafts were made in the rural areas of Thar and that hundreds of families of that already poor area have been affected by the eviction.