LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) bench Monday announced the suspension of its previous ruling that barred the government of caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi in Punjab from leasing over 45,000 acres of land to the army for “corporate agriculture farming” on a 20-year lease.
The land, located in the Bhakkar, Khushab, and Sahiwal districts of the province, was sought by the military for the purpose of corporate agriculture farming as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative.
The discussions for this deal began during the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government’s tenure, but it was finalised under the interim government.
In March, Justice Abid Hussain Chattha of the high court invalidated the decision by the interim government to lease the land, deeming the caretaker government’s decision as unconstitutional and lacking legal authority according to Section 230 of the Elections Act, 2017.
Subsequently, in April, the caretaker government filed an appeal with the high court challenging the stay order that prohibited the handover of the land to the army.
During the hearing on Monday, a two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi addressed the government’s request to overturn the court’s order. Punjab Advocate General Khalid Ishaq represented the provincial government in court.
The caretaker government argued in its plea that there was a contradiction in the court’s verdict, claiming that agricultural policy regulation fell outside the court’s jurisdiction. The plea further contended the court’s previous decision to halt the land transfer was in violation of the law.
The plea read that, as per the law, the caretaker government had the authority to implement or finalise any pending decision or policy from the previous government.
After considering the plea’s arguments, the court decided to temporarily suspend its previous ruling on the matter.
