SHC issues notices

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday issued notices to Sindh chief secretary, secretaries of forest, law and finance departments to submit comments in response to a petition against allotment of 9,000 acres of forest lands to Pakistan Army.

A division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi directed the provincial law officer to ensure filing of comments by the provincial authorities by August 06.

A civil rights campaigner and secretary general of an NGO-United Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has moved to the court against distribution of forest lands instead of arable lands among the heirs of martyred soldiers.

In the petition, Rana submitted that Sindh Chief Minister had announced that the provincial government had decided to allot 9,000 acres of forest lands in Garhi Yasin of Shikarpur district to Pakistan Army for distribution among the legal heirs of martyred military personnel.

He stated that the provincial government allotted forest lands in violation of a court order as an SHC bench had granted a stay order against its allotment, with a ruling that it cannot be used for any other purpose.

The petitioner wondered why the government had allotted forest land to be distributed among the heirs of martyred soldiers as there were hundreds of thousands acres of arable farming land available in the province. He pleaded with the judges to annul the allotment of 9,000 acres of forest lands to Army and direct the provincial authorities to allot revenue land.—PPI