PHC admits petition challenging 1975 notification

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday admitted for hearing a writ petition challenging a notification issued in 1975 which had declared all mountains, wastelands, jungles, pastures and riverbeds of Chitral to be the property of the provincial government.

A division bench consisting Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Waqar Ahmad heard arguments in the case. A number of aggrieved people from Chitral have challenged the land settlement process in the high court.

Barrister Asadul Mulk representing the petitioners pointed out the statutory and constitutional defects in the 1975 notification. He contended that the notification in question was against Article 23 and 24 of the Constitution, which has clearly mentioned proprietary rights as fundamental rights, while Article 25 prohibited discrimination.

It was submitted before the court that the petitioners were not opposed to land settlement, but they wanted that due process should be followed and they should not be deprived of their proprietary rights. Accepting the petition, the high court sought comments from the federal secretary Law and Justice, the chief secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Senior Member Board of Revenue and the deputy commissioners and settlement officers of the districts of Upper Chitral and Lower Chitral.

Justice Syed Arshad Ali observed that the high court would evaluate the constitutionality of the notification and the petitioners should not worry about their proprietary rights. He said that if the petition succeeded then erroneous entries based on the 1975 notification would be reversed irrespective of the fact whether or not the government notified land rights.

Meanwhile, a divisional bench of the Peshawar High Court consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Waqar Ahmad also admitted a petition challenging the manner of land settlement being carried out in the districts of Upper Chitral and Lower Chitral. The petitioners were represented by Barrister Asadul Mulk who explained to the court that Revenue and Settlement department had been placing unwarranted reliance on a government notification issued in 1975 which declared all mountains, wastelands, jungles, pastures and riverbeds of Chitral to be the property of the provincial government. It was contended that the 1975 notification was prone to different interpretation which made recourse to the historical, geographical, topographical and legal background of the region in question necessary. Justice Syed Arshad Ali observed during the course of the hearing that proprietary rights were valuable rights protected by Article 23 and 24 of the Constitution of Pakistan and the high court would determine the constitutionality of the notification.