The Lahore High Court reserved its decision on the request of Public Interest Law Association Pakistan against allotting government land to the army.
Justice Abid Hussain Chatta reserved the verdict after the arguments were concluded in the hearing held on Wednesday.
During the hearing, the allotment of government land to the army was fully defended in arguments by the federal and provincial governments.
The petitioner’s lawyer said that “more than one million acres of agricultural land is being leased by the Punjab government to the Pakistani army for corporate farming, which is illegal, so this initiative should be stopped.”
The court had already stopped the process of allotment of more than 45,000 agricultural land on lease to the army in various districts by the Punjab government.
Justice Abid Hussain Chatta had asked for a report from the federal and provincial government, which has been submitted to the court.
Government lawyer Mirza Nasr Ahmad rejected the position of the petitioner in the report and arguments and said that ‘with the approval of the federal and provincial government, land is being given to the army for corporate farming on a 20+10-year lease in a phased manner.’
The report submitted to the court said that ‘with the approval of the federal government, the provincial government has approved the allotment of barren land to the army as per the law.’
According to the government lawyer, the petitioner is not the affected party, so this petition should be dismissed because the position of the federal and Punjab governments is the same in this matter. This allotment is being done to develop the agricultural sector in the country by reviewing all the legal aspects in this process.
The petitioner’s lawyers argued that the constitution allows the army to perform defense and relief operations on the orders of the federal government. Army is not allowed to do any commercial work including corporate farming. The government did not adopt legal procedures even in the allotment of land.
Petitioner’s objections
Speaking to Independent Urdu, advocate Rafi Alam Advocate, who followed on behalf of the Public Interest Law Association, said that “some time ago, it came to know that the Punjab government was allotting lakhs of acres of agricultural land to the army on lease.” As this matter is against the public interest, an application was filed in the Lahore High Court on behalf of the law firm.
According to Rafi Alam, ‘When the information about this was collected, it was found that the Punjab government has adopted an illegal procedure in this matter. The Usman Buzdar government approved the leasing of uninhabited government land for corporate farming up to five hundred acres under the CPEC project.
“This approval was to be taken from the cabinet but the minutes of the meeting were not available.”
He said that when the Buzdar government ended and the caretaker government was established, it was found that more than one million acres of agricultural land was being allotted to the Pakistan Army on lease in various districts of Punjab, including Cholistan, under the ‘Corporate Agriculture Scheme’. .’
According to the petitioner’s lawyer, ‘When this matter came up, we approached the Lahore High Court that the caretaker government is allotting land in violation of public interest and law.’
His fellow lawyer Fahad Malik had argued in the court on Tuesday that the role of the military institution is clear in Article 243, 244 of the Constitution.
“Even in the Army Act, 1952, there is no provision that the Army can acquire land for agriculture, corporate farming or any other commercial purpose. In the government partnership agreement, the government will also commit to provide funds related to construction or road construction for corporate farming.
Government report
On behalf of the federal government, Additional Attorney General Mirza Nasr Ahmad submitted a report in the court, in which the federal and provincial governments have been explained in detail.
Speaking to Independent Urdu, Mirza Nasr Ahmad said that ‘We have submitted a comprehensive and detailed report to the court in which it has been said that with the approval of the federal government, the elected cabinet of Punjab in 2022 has amended the sections of the Government Colonies Land Act 1912. 10 decided to allot land, which the caretaker government is implementing in accordance with the law.’
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
The government report states that ‘Articles 37, 38 of the Constitution empower the state to take such measures to provide food and employment in the public interest.’
“The elected government has approved the allotment of land for public interest in which no legal violation is being done.”
According to the report, this scheme will make government uninhabited lands cultivable and lakhs of people will get employment. Pakistan is an agricultural country so such measures are necessary for modern farming in view of the current economic situation.’
Army’s purpose of taking land
In a letter sent by the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army (GHQ) to the Revenue Department of Punjab in February 2023, it was said that the world, including Pakistan, is facing the challenge of natural food and inflation, due to which the army also needs food. Experiencing problems related to the purchase of Therefore, the government should allot uninhabited government land in different areas of the Punjab province under the corporate agriculture scheme.
The letter said that ‘Army has experience in making uninhabitable lands habitable and has expert personnel for this. If the Punjab government allocates land in the wider interest of the country, it will be possible to increase the production in other sectors including farming and livestock.