The transfer of 45,267 acres of property on lease to the Pakistan Army for the purpose of corporate farming was postponed by the high court on Friday in Lahore. The Punjab interim administration recently consented to grant the army a 20-year lease on the property in three districts, Bhakkar, Khushab, and Sahiwal. (with the possibility of extending it for another 10 years).
LHC Stops Land Transfers to the Army
An objection was filed with the LHC against the agreement and the following notification from the caretaker administration by the Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (Pilap), a non-profit legal organization.
They claimed that the notification was unlawful because the caretaker government of a province lacked the authority to make such a choice in accordance with the Constitution.
Pilap’s appeal was presented to Justice Abid Hussain Chattha on Friday by attorneys Ahmad Rafay Alam and Fahad Malik.
The attorney argued that the Colonisation of Government Lands (Punjab) Act 1912’s Section 10 required the Punjab Colonies Department to issue a notification on February 20 authorizing the transfer of the property. They claimed that the interim government’s authority was restricted to carrying out routine duties and lacked the authority to decide on the long-term policy.
The caretaker government was unable to make the permanent decision to grant state property for 30 years, according to attorney Malik. He claimed that, in accordance with the Elections Act of 2017, a caretaker government was not permitted to execute any of its powers under Section 10 of the Colonization Act. In reality, it directly fell into the category of Section 230 of the Act’s prohibited activities.
According to him, the alleged transfer of the land also contravened the Doctrine of Public Trust, which states that the government is responsible for safeguarding certain natural resources and cannot randomly transfer those resources to private individuals.
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