Hand over of 45,000 acres of land to army
The Lahore High Court has stopped the caretaker government of Punjab from handing over at least 45,267 acres of land in three districts of Bhakkar, Khushab, and Sahiwal to the Pakistan Army for “Corporate Agriculture Farming”, it emerged on Friday.
A two-page verdict was issued yesterday by Judge Abid Hussain Chattha over a petition filed by Ahmad Rafay Alam on March 28 on behalf of Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan. About two weeks ago, the Punjab government had signed an agreement to hand over the land to the army, referring to a notification dated Feb 20, 2023 and a joint venture agreement of March 8.
According to the verdict, the LHC has barred the Punjab caretaker government from extending any “lease of state land” for the above-mentioned purpose as per the government’s notification.
