Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the Sindh government's reluctance to recover hundreds of thousands of acres of illegally allotted and grabbed land in a case pertaining to deforestation in Karachi.
The Chief Justice, while heading a three-member bench, asked if any measures have been taken by the provincial government regarding its forest land.
"Seventy thousands acres of land have been leased illegally," Sindh's additional advocate general told the court, adding that demarcation of forest land is under way.
When Justice Ijazul Ahsan inquired how the land developer got hold of forest land, the petitioner Qazi Athar said that the property developer was given 11,000 acres of forest land in Karachi and another 4,000 acres in Nawabshah.
The Chief Justice expressed disappointment over Sindh government's inaction to recover its land, saying: "Forests are very important for the environment. If they do not want to work, they should leave this country. Such people are not capable of running the government."
"I have never seen a government that is admitting that its land has been illegally occupied but is still not taking any action," the CJP said.
The petitioner contended that PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had converted forest department's 2.8 million acres into revenue land - a move, he said, that was later declared null and void by Sindh High Court.
Besides, the petitioner claimed that the then Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah did not get a satellite survey of the land conducted despite court's orders.
The land, the petitioner alleged, was later transferred to Omni Group and others in complete violation of court orders.
The Chief Justice said that he would not grant land developer's counsel's request for adjournment, summoning him to the Karachi registry on January 9, when the case will next be heard.
The court also ordered the parties concerned to furnish their reports in the court by January 7.
In November last year, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah told Sindh Assembly that around 149,235 acres of land have been illegally occupied by influential persons over the last five years.
In Dadu, 27,566 acres of land had been illegally occupied during the last five years, 24,161 acres in Benazirabad. 23,715 acres in Sukkur, 19,271 acres in Hyderabad, 12,238 acres in Larkana, 17,477 acres in Khairpur and 7,879 acres were grabbed in Kandhkot.
The chief minister said that a comprehensive campaign had been launched against encroachers and 15,733 acres had been vacated and the campaign against land mafia was in "full swing."
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