ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court tried to unravel on Wednesday the mystery behind the utilisation of a large chunk of lands, allotted to the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in Karachi.
No one was very forthcoming as a five-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, tried to figure exactly why the lands were being acquired: were they to be used as housing facilities for the ISI and PAF employees; would they be utilised for strategic purposes; or, was it something entirely different.
The Land Utilisation Department of the Sindh Board of Revenue reportedly has no objection to transferring the land if it is to be used for servicemen’s residences. However, representatives of the department told reporters outside the courtroom that they feared the land would be used to develop a cooperative housing society, which was believed to be a private scheme and not a requirement of the state.
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In court, Advocate Raja Muhammad Irshad, the counsel representing the ISI director general and the PAF, had to withdraw the review petitions with the understanding that he would move a contempt of court petition against the Sindh Board of Revenue for not transferring the land to them.
The matter at hand deals with the allotment of 10 acres of land for the development of a housing facility for ISI employees, as well as the allocation of 350 acres for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
The summary for the allotment of the land was approved by the Sindh chief minister but the Land Utilisation Department of the Sindh Board of Revenue blocked the allotment in view of Nov 28, 2012 judgment of the Supreme Court, regarding the law and order situation in Karachi.
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The order sought to restrain the Sindh revenue department from mutation, allotment, transfer or conversion of any state land.
Consequently, a civil miscellaneous application was moved on behalf of the ISI director general before the Supreme Court, seeking an order directing the Sindh Board of Revenue to issue the allotment of the land. The request aimed at accommodating the agency’s employees, who were said to be facing a lack of accommodation.
The application was put up before another bench of the Supreme Court, which clarified the situation through the Nov 28, 2013 order, explaining that the restraining order will be applicable to the extent of state land only and as far as state property – which is required for use of the state itself – the revenue department will be free to enter the transaction or mutation.
Still aggrieved with the decision of the apex court, the ISI filed a review petition against the Nov 28, 2013 order of the Supreme Court.
When the case was taken up on Wednesday, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa observed that the revenue board thought that the purpose for acquiring the lands was different from the stated reasons and therefore wanted to use the “court’s shoulder” to transfer the land, despite the court’s directions allowing the allotment of state land for the state’s use. The judge however said that the court would not allow misuse of its shoulder.
The revenue board’s counsel, Ahmed Pirzada, replied that his client had no hesitation in allotting the lands for the purpose of developing residential facilities or even strategic purpose, subject to the orders of the Supreme Court.
“Make your own decision because it will be your decision,” Justice Mulk observed while pointing towards the counsel for the revenue board.
Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali also asked why the board trying to pre-empt something that was not on the record. The judge also suggested that the counsel for the ISI and PAF should have filed a contempt case against the board of revenue for not adhering to the court orders.
Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2014