LAHORE: The caretaker government of Punjab has approached the Lahore High Court against a stay order against handing over of 45,267 acres of land on a lease to the Pakistan Army for the purposes of corporate farming.

A law officer filed the appeal on behalf of the government pleading that a single bench of the LHC passed the stay order without hearing the point of view of the government.

The appeal contended that the lease of the land was duly approved by the cabinet.

The appellant argued that the purpose of the handing over of the land to the army was to protect the food and the environment.

The appellant asked the court to set aside the impugned stay order.

The caretaker government had agreed to hand over the land in question to the army in three districts Bhakkar, Khushab and Sahiwal on a 20-year lease.

The single bench had passed the stay on a public interest petition filed by The Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan (PILAP).

The petition had questioned the power of the caretaker government to take the decision of handing over the land.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023