In Rawalpindi, authorities took the action of sealing Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s Lal Haveli residence once again, citing invalid documents.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Deputy Administrator, Asif Khan, informed the media that Sheikh Rashid’s residence had been completely sealed due to the submission of invalid documents by Rashid. The order to vacate Lal Haveli was issued by the ETPB chairman.
The operation to evacuate the occupants was conducted by the ETPB early in the morning, with the presence of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and a significant police contingent.
In a video statement, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, the nephew of the APML chief, stated that Lal Haveli had been registered in the name of Sheikh Siddique in 1988. He mentioned that all property records had been submitted to the deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi. He also stated that they had submitted their response to the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench and planned to challenge the ETPB’s decision to seal their property in the high court the following day.
Shafiq added, “Today is the dark night of cruelty, efforts are being made to arrest me too.”
Following the operation, the ETPB took control of Lal Haveli and deployed security personnel outside the residence.
Earlier this year, Lal Haveli had been sealed by the EPB but was immediately unsealed on the orders of the LHC Rawalpindi Bench. At the time, Rashid had alleged that ETPB officials were “misusing their powers under the orders of political high-ups.”
This recent development occurred shortly after the arrest of Rashid, a close aide of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, in Rawalpindi. His lawyer, Sardar Abdul Razaq, claimed that Rashid was taken into custody by plainclothes personnel from a housing society in Rawalpindi. The lawyer clarified that no case was registered against the AML chief within the limits of Punjab and that Rashid was named in a case filed at Kohsar police station related to a PTI protest rally on May 10 against the detention of Imran Khan, the former prime minister.
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