Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli residence sealed over ‘illegal occupation’

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) sealed former interior minister Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli residence in Rawalpindi over “illegal occupation”, Aaj News reported on Monday.

The ETPB teams and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) sealed two units of the Lal Haveli and five adjoining units. They also canceled the Awami Muslim League (AML) chief’s ownership of the units.

ETPB Deputy Commissioner Asif Khan said several notices had been issued to Rashid and his brother in this regard but they failed to provide any authentic document or record.

Rashid has said he did not receive a notice prior to the action. According to him, Lal Haveli is his “personal property” and a “central secretariat for public service” and sealing it is an act of fascism and terrorism.

Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli possession declared ‘illegal’

“If it is not our personal property, we would be national criminals. The government took this step after it failed to find anything against me,” he said.

Moreover, the former interior minister has also filed a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench against the sealing of his residence.

Last year, ETPB had declared Rashid’s takeover of Lal Haveli and six other units as illegal.

It Rashid could not produce any records related to the seven abandoned units.

The written judgment noted that due to political influence, the case was delayed for 27 years, adding that Rashid and his brother Sheikh Siddique had not made any payment to the endowment department since 1995.