LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday stayed conversion of former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s house in Gulberg into a panahgah (shelter home) by the Punjab government and sought replies from the authorities.

Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan issued the injunction on a petition by Tabbasum Dar, wife of the former minister, who lives in London and has been declared an absconder by an Islamabad accountability court. Ms Dar, who also resides in London, approa­ched the court through lawyers in Lahore.

Advocates Qazi Misbahul Hassan and Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan represented the petitioner and questioned the legality of the government’s action.

Mr Hassan argued that the Islamabad High Court had stayed auction of the Gulberg property, namely “Hajvery House”, as ordered by the lower court of the federal capital.

He submitted that the government’s act of converting the house into a shelter home was a violation of the IHC stay order. He said the impugned act was based on mala fide intention and political victimisation.

Shahbaz hails court order, terms govt decision ‘nothing but an act of vengeance’

The counsel asked the court to declare that the government had unlawfully converted the house into a shelter home.

After hearing initial arguments, Justice Hassan restrained the government from using the house as a shelter home and sought a detailed reply within 10 days.

Assistant Commissioner of Model Town Nasarullah Ranjha and officials of the social welfare departments remained unavailable for their response to the stay order despite several phone calls made by Dawn.

On July 27 last year, the city district government had taken possession of about five-kanal house (7-H, Hajvery House, Gulberg III) belonging to Mr Dar after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) confiscated all his movable and immovable assets in connection with a corruption reference.

Last month, the provincial government planned to auction off the house; however, the IHC issued an injunction on the plea of Mrs Dar.

Finally, the government established a shelter home in the house of Mr Dar on Friday, insisting the move was not a violation of the IHC stay order.

Vindictive actions

Talking to the media outside the court, Rana Mash­hood said the vindictive actions of the government against the opposition were not going to last long as its days were numbered.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government knew nothing as to how to serve the people of the country and its whole mission was to take revenge from the opposition.

He claimed that Mr Dar had taken the country out of the economic crisis and rather strengthened it. He said the government should have sought some advice from Mr Dar on economic situation.

PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, presently living in London, hailed the stay order in favour of Dr Dar and said the services rendered to the country by the former finance minister could not be discredited through ‘mean’ tactics of the government.

In a statement, Mr Sharif said the illegal occupation of Mr Dar’s house by the government was nothing but an act of vengeance.

He regretted that the government after snatching bread and butter from the whole nation was now busy in establishing shelter homes in the houses of political opponents.

He said the arrogance, stubbornness and malice of Prime Minister Imran Khan was causing a great damage to the country’s economy.

In Islamabad, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior condemned conversion of Mr Dar’s residence into a shelter home and termed it an act of political victimisation.

A member of the committee, Senator Mohammad Javed Abbasi of the PML-N, raised the matter of converting Mr Dar’s house into a panahgah.

The committee strongly condemned the act and termed it an act of political victimisation. “There is thin line between accountability and victimisation and such act of victimisation should be discouraged and condemned by all,” the chairman of the committee Senator Rehman Malik said.

He said that it seemed some “Einstein” in the Punjab government was conspiring against PM Khan as the said move was against the orders of the court. He directed the Ministry of Interior to look into the matter and submit a detail report to the committee within three days.

Syed Irfan Raza in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2020