LHC stays Dar house conversion into shelter home

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued a stay order against the Punjab government’s decision to convert the house of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar into a shelter home. Tabassum Ishaq Dar, wife of the former minister, challenged the decision to turn the residence into a shelter home through a petition. An accountability court on Nov 7, 2019 had ordered to auction Dar’s attached property situated in the area of Gulberg, Lahore; however, on Jan 28, Islamabad High Court had issued a restraining order against the accountability court’s order.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, Qazi Misbahul Hassan Advocate, pleaded that the Punjab government’s decision was illegal as the IHC had already issued a stay order against auction of the same.

He said Mrs Dar had pleaded before the IHC that her husband had purchased it before entering politics and gifted it to her on Feb 14, 1989 as dower money (Haq Mehr).

The lawyer pointed out that the government also committed a violation of NAB Ordinance 1999 as under Section 12(F) the status of any attached property could not be changed till the disposal of the case.

He said Section 12(F) required that properties frozen and attached under NAB law would remain intact till the final disposal of the case. He said the order restricts not only the government but also other institutions against amending the status of the attached properties.

He argued that under Section 88 of Criminal Procedure Code 1989 also prohibited the government from either auctioning or mutating the attached property until the final decision of the civil suit already filed by Ishaq Dar’s family before the relevant court.

After hearing initial arguments, Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan suspended the Punjab government decision to convert Dar’s house into a shelter home and sought replies from it as well as of NAB within 10 days.