RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Police is once again set to vacate the historic Lal Haveli, the residence of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) sought help from the Rawalpindi Administration and Police to vacate the building. The property D-154 is the site of evacuee property which holds the Lal Haveli and the office of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
Deputy Administrator said the Lal Haveli and another property have to be vacated at 6 AM on Thursday. He said adequate security and administrative officers are required to handle the law and order situation.
Sheikh Rashid’s lawyer Advocate Sardar Shehbaz said they were not given adequate time regarding the case. He said their written reply was not made a part of the case. He said forcibly vacating Lal Haveli is an illegal act and political vendetta.
On Sunday, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was arrested in Rawalpindi along with his two relatives in Bahria Town area of Rawalpindi. However, police did not confirm his arrest.
His lawyer Sardar Abdur Razak claimed that Sheikh Rasheed was taken into custody by individuals dressed in plain clothes and subsequently shifted to an undisclosed location.
Sheikh Rashid’s nephew, Sheikh Shakir, and a household employee named Imran had also been arrested. The PTI acknowledged Sheikh Rashid’s arrest and said the ongoing political victimization and authoritarianism persist. It said the arrest was a mockery of the law.
Soon after the arrest, Sheikh Rashid’s nephew and former MPA Sheikh Rashid Shafiq came out with a video message. He said there was no case registered against Sheikh Rashid in Rawalpindi or Islamabad.
He appealed to the state institutions to produce Sheikh Rashid in the court of law if there are any charges against him. He said the Punjab government and the federal government would be responsible if anything happened to Sheikh Rashid.
Earlier this year in January, the ETPB had sealed two units of the Lal Haveli after sending notice to Sheikh Rashid and his brother Sheikh Siddique. It also seals five units of an adjoining property. The ETPB wrote to the deputy commissioner, the city police officer (CPO), and FIA’s director for their support to seal the property.
Sheikh Rashid approached the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench against the complete sealing of the Lal Haveli. The famous Lal Haveli, an old building at Bohar Bazaar, is the political office of the AML leader.
In October 2002, a district and sessions court in Rawalpindi issued a stay order to the ETPB, directing it to temporarily stop the eviction of the structure after Rashid challenged a notice asking him to vacate his residence.
The board also issued directives to the AML chief and his brother to vacate the residence within seven days. However, the former minister challenged the notice in court.
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