ISLAMABAD, May 14: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday ordered the doors of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) shut on its alleged virtual lord, Faisal Sakhi Butt, and the doors of his house on the CDA officials – but only in their official capacity.

These orders flowed from a petition of a Kashmiri migrant whose counsel challenged the legal status of Mr Butt as head of Prime Minister Task Force for Islamabad.

However, the orders were of interim nature as Justice Siddiqui granted one week to Mr Butt’s counsel to answer the question and the charge that his client had been exercising the authority and powers of the chairman of CDA, and adjourned the hearing of the case to May 21.

CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal told Dawn that the court’s order, when received, would be circulated to all concerned in the organisation.

During Monday’s proceedings, the court raised the question under which statute the chairman task force is appointed and given the task to interfere into the affairs of an autonomous body, CDA, and exercise the authority and powers of its chairman.

Justice Siddiqui is hearing Kashmiri migrant Fazal Hussain’s petition that CDA had been blocking allotment of 39 kanals of land to him under the rehabilitation (of migrant) policy.

His counsel, Niazullah Niazi, told the court that CDA was under the thumb of Mr Butt who interferes in all matters pertaining to the civic body on the strength of a notification issued by the prime minister.

Advocate Niazi told Dawn that last December the prime minister constituted a three-member committee headed by Mr Butt to oversee the CDA affairs. The other two members were Nargis Faiz Malik, a member of the Punjab assembly, and Asad Mumtaz Khan, president of PPP Killanger, a village of Islamabad, he said.

According to the lawyer there is no provision for a task force to monitor the CDA affairs in the CDA ordinance of 1960 as the authority operates under a chairman and members of CDA board.

CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal, on the other hand, denied that Mr Butt enjoyed his powers.

He said Mr Butt seldom visited CDA, noting that his last visit took place after the Bhoja Air plane crash to oversee the rescue efforts of CDA.

Occasionally he participated in the meetings on development of the city in his capacity of chairman task force, but Mr Butt never interfered in the CDA matters, he said.

CDA officials never went to Mr Butt’s residence or office in their official capacity, he asserted. However, CDA could not stop any official from meeting him in his personal capacity, he added.

Meanwhile, IHC Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi resumed hearing a contempt of court plea filed by the owner of private petrol pump.

While hearing the petition of SMG petroleum seeking no objection certificate (NOC) from the CDA on Friday, the court had issued arrest warrants for its chairman Farkhand Iqbal, director-general planning Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu and deputy director Arshad Chohan.

CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal did not appear before the court and the judge while expressing his annoyance directed the civic body to issue the NOC to the petitioner by Tuesday or face consequences.

The CDA counsel, Chaudhry Haseeb, requested the court to defer the matter till next week as issuance of NOC required some time, but court rejected its request and adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.

CDA authorities were also directed to produce the NOC on next date of hearing. Khurram Hashmi, the petitioner’s counsel, told the court that despite the court’s order CDA authorities refused to issue no objection certificate (NOC) to SMG petroleum.