ISLAMABAD: Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, head of the opposition Awami Muslim League (AML) party, said the government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) “completely sealed” his historic Lal Haveli residence in Rawalpindi in an early morning raid on Monday.
A deputy commissioner of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Asif Khan, announced that four units of the palatial pre-partition building, two of them owned by Ahmad, have been sealed off over “illegal occupation”, in an action taken by a joint team of board and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Khan further said multiple notices have been issued to Ahmad and his sibling on the matter. However, Ahmad denied receiving any notice from the ETPB, a department which administers properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India after partition in 1947, and said he was seeking recourse through the Lahore High Court (LHC).
According to ETPB, the top floor of the building remains unsealed. Ahmad had sought a court injunction to prevent the Auqaf and Religious Affairs Department from taking action, but his request was recently denied by a junior court.
Citing Auqaf Department officials, BBC Urdu reported that some sections of the mansion, including a temple, are owned by the government through the department, while the other belong to Ahmad, with documentation to prove it.
The former interior minister Monday alleged the government attempted to arrest him and has now resorted to “hooliganism.”
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) January 30, 2023
In a series of tweets, Ahmad said the perpetrators took the life of Lal Haveli in the still of the night. “The small property, measuring less than 5 marlas, is a personal belonging and serves as the central hub for public service. Assistance [for the raid] was [also] requested from the Rangers and Frontier Constabulary but was refused [by the military],” he said.
“We have yet to receive any official notice regarding the sealing of Lal Haveli, which we view as a form of fascism and political terrorism.
رات کےاندھیرے میں حکومت پرشب خون مارنےوالوں نےلال حویلی پرشب خون مارا ہے5مرلہ سےکم لال حویلی ہماری ذاتی ملکیت ہےاورعوامی خدمت کا مرکزی سیکریٹیریٹ ہےانھوں نےرینجرزاورFCسےمدد مانگی انھوں نےانکار کردیاپھرFIAاورپولیس کی مدد سےلال حویلی کوسیل کردیا۔5 بجے لال حویلی پریس کانفرنس کروں گا
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) January 30, 2023
“If it is not proven to be our personal property, then we must be held accountable as national criminals. Despite investigations conducted by 16 government agencies, no evidence of wrongdoing has been found,” he wrote.
“The case of Lal Haveli, which was subjected to attack, is set to be heard in court on February 15. A British production company is also set to produce a film based on the events surrounding Lal Haveli.”
The board had previously issued notices and sent the former MP to vacate the property, a directive that was challenged in court by Ahmad. On October 18 of last year, a district and sessions court issued a stay order, temporarily stopping the eviction.
The agency has discovered that the ownership documents of one of the eight units of Lal Haveli are “fraudulent”. According to a senior official of the ETPB, the 3.5-marla unit, under Ahmad’s use, is actually owned by the trust. The remaining seven units were allegedly claimed by Ahmad in 2006 after forcing out tenants.
The official said the trust property cannot be sold or transferred, but can only be given on rent.
On the other hand, Ahmad has denied the claims, maintaining the dispute is limited to a 10×10 room that he uses as a kitchen. He claims to own only four marlas of Lal Haveli, which he declared in his income tax return in 1968.
The former minister has criticised the trust for trying to evict him and claimed to have shown them the relevant documents every time.
