The Nation | September 16, 2009
LAHORE - Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has expressed deep concerns over the alleged allotment of land to the Americans and provision of houses to Blackwater, terming it an incursion of another East India Company into the country.
Hailing appointments of newly additional judges in the Lahore High Court (LHC), the LHCBA in a meeting on Monday held under the chair of Justice (r) Nasira Iqbal also condemned the alleged sale of 18 acres land within diplomatic enclave and renting out 200 houses to Americans in Islamabad. The LHCBA demanded the existing PCO judges to vacate their offices so that conscientious and independent judges could be appointed at their places.
The bar demanded of the government to immediately undo its anti-state decisions and be restrained from leasing out country’s land to foreign parties through a resolution moved by a senior bar member Barrister Zafarullah Khan.
The resolution stated that the land if given to the US embassy would be used as air base besides housing more than 5,000 civilian and military men and marines who were specialist in commando operation with all its sophisticated weaponry. The bar further expressed concern over the intended sale or lease of 700,000 acres agricultural land to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar for production of food.
It further stated that in fact these lands were being acquired by the Arabs as front men for the Americans who would eventually use them for possible military bases, because Arabs had been front men in the bid to purchase Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) for an Indian businessman.
The bar resolved that there would be no compromise on sovereignty of Pakistan and violations of fundamental rights of citizens of Pakistan.
The bar president also thanked LHC Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif for allowing establishment of a scheduled bank branch in the premises of the bar and she also informed the bar members that three banks had offered to open their branches for facility of the members of the bar.
The president LHCBA further said that the bar was already facing financial deficiency to the tune of Rs6.5 million and if the bar members wished to give Eidi to the employees of the bar then they should collect donations for this purpose.
