hief Justice Saqib Nisar in a hearing, on Friday, expressed his outrage regarding illegal occupation of a government plot, gave out to the Sindh government and remarked that Sindh lacks discipline.
The CJP gave these remarks while hearing the suo-motu case, based on a report published in The Express Tribune in 2015, regarding encroachment on the land of the old Ladies Club in Larkana.
The Ladies Club in Larkana, which hosted the wives of Sindh’s first chief minister and other bureaucrats, lost a portion of its pre-Partition building to the land mafia.
“In 2004, the government had announced that it will sell the club and the plot to a builder but we protested with the help of civil society and some political parties and managed to save it,” said Dr Sabiha Mughal, the Ladies Club chairperson. “Now, two of our shops have been occupied and the land mafia has become active once again to grab this precious plot and historical building.”
In his remarks, the CJP questioned if the government officers would sell their own property at such low rates the way they unreasonably allotted the precious public land.
Investigating officer on the matter stated that the accused, Ghulam Mustafa, illegally allotted four acres of land in 1991 leading to billions in losses for the government. The NAB prosecutor further added that all investigations have been completed against the accused.
The lawyer of accused requested for more time to present additional evidence but the CJP sternly stated that if the defendant asks for more time then the transit bail would be rejected as well.
“Even the US President Donald Trump cannot allot a cabin in the US but here (in Sindh) anyone can do whatever they want,” CJP noted with concern.
The CJP ordered advocate general Sindh to have the park restored to its original position and remove the said encroachments.
The Gomibai Jawaharmal Ladies Club was built by a Hindu deputy collector, who named it after his sister. On January 3, 1934, the club was inaugurated by Mrs RE Gibson, the wife of a senior British bureaucrat. The club has around 107 members and it runs without any financial support from the government. Its governing and management committee manages its affairs with the help of the annual membership fee of Rs4,000 that each member pays.
The club, which is a significant part of Larkana’s heritage, has hosted some famous guests in its time. “This is the club where Rana Liaquat Ali Khan visited several times after the launch of All Pakistan Women Association,” pointed out Dr Mughal. “Members of this club also gave a reception to Lady Mountbatten”.
