Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, the leader of the Awami Muslim League (AML), claimed on Monday that his Lal Haveli home had been “totally sealed” by the government. The AML leader’s political office is located in the renowned Lal Haveli, a historic structure in Bohar Bazaar.
Rashid asserted that he was approaching the high court in this regard and that the Evacuee Trust Property Board had not given him any notice. The former federal minister claimed, “I was in Islamabad, not at the Haveli.
“The authorities planned to detain me overnight. They’ve turned to hooliganism lately.” The former minister urged the responsible officials to “hang us publicly and disqualify us if it is proved that we don’t own this land.” He said that this was his property.
Last night, ETPB Deputy Commissioner Asif Khan and a sizable police contingent arrived at the site and sealed two sections of the renowned Lal Haveli in Rawalpindi. A team from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was also on the scene.
The ETPB requested assistance in a letter to the deputy commissioner, the chief police officer (CPO), and the director of FIA. The operation also included the assistant commissioner, the director of the FIA, and the superintendent of police (SP).
Rashid and his brother Sheikh Siddique illegally occupied the haveli’s seven land units, according to the deputy commissioner. Before sealing the property, according to DC Khan, many notices were delivered to the AML chief and his brother.
He said that Sheikh Rashid and his brother had not offered any genuine papers or records. Rashid followed by stating that the court had also rejected his request for an injunction.
Seven units in total, including two units in the Lal Haveli and five adjacent ones, were sealed by the ETPB.
After Rashid contested a notification for him to leave his home, a district and sessions court in Rawalpindi issued a stay order to the ETPB on October 18 of last year, ordering it to temporarily halt the eviction of the structure.
The AML chief and his brother were also given orders by the board to leave the house in a week. The former minister, however, contested the notice in court.
