Row over Panj Tirath possession: ETPB moves PHC against KP govt’s notification

PESHAWAR: A row between the provincial and federal departments has emerged for taking possession of the Panj Tirath, an ancient Hindu religious site, as the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) moved the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against a notification of the Sports, Tourism, Archaeology and Museums Department regarding its control. Both the departments are claiming Panj Tirath, currently known as Family Park and previously called Chacha Younas Park, as the ETPB claimed that the land was meant for the non-Muslims and it can neither be used for any other purpose nor controlled by any other authority except the chairman, ETPB, Lahore under the Evacuee Trust Property (M & D) Act, 1975. On the other hand, the secretary archaeology and museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on December 18, 2018 issued a notification whereby the area called Panj Tirath was declared as “important/protected antiquity”. Subsequently he issued a letter to the deputy commissioner for taking its possession. As per the historic background of the place, Panj Tirath is named after the five pools of water present at the site, which also houses a Hindu temple and a lawn with date- palm trees.