Ex-finance minister sues govt for turning his residence into shelter home

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former finance minister Ishaq Dar told Arab News on Saturday he had initiated legal action against the government for converting his sprawling residence in Lahore into a shelter home, adding that he was being targeted by the ruling administration for criticizing its bad governance and poor economic policies.
The Punjab government announced its decision to open Dar’s palatial property to homeless people on Friday, saying it would give them basic necessities of life.
“The government has illegally occupied my house and this is the worst kind of political victimization,” Dar said in an interview on telephone from London. “I have filed a petition against the government in the Lahore High Court today which is expected to be taken up on Monday.”
The former finance minister is a close relative to ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He is currently based in the United Kingdom where he is living his life in self-exile while a corruption case remains pending against him in Pakistan.
“All charges of corruption against me are politically motivated, and I’ve been fighting them in courts,” he said. “This government has been victimizing me for exposing its bad governance and poor policies which have led to the deterioration of our national economy.”
In July last year, the government confiscated Dar’s house in the wake of an accountability court’s order in a corruption reference against him. The Punjab government decided to auction the property last month, but the Islamabad High Court issued a stay order in response to a petition filed by his wife.
“The government is clearly guilty of committing contempt of court [by converting the house into a shelter home], and I’ll request the court to hold all responsible to account,” Dar added.
The establishment of shelter homes for poor in different cities of the country has been one of the signature initiatives of Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to an estimate, around 20 million people out of Pakistan’s 208 million are homeless. This is the first time, however, that the government has converted a private property of any individual into a shelter home.
Asked about its decision to do that, the Punjab government defended its action, denying any violation of the court order.
“The action has been carried out in public interest,” Momina Waheed, a Punjab government spokesperson, told Arab News. “The government has every legal right to bring the property of a fugitive into public use, and we are doing it for the poor and destitute of our society.”
“When a person is declared an absconder by a court, he loses all rights to his property and other movable and immovable assets,” Waheed said. “People are admiring our decision.”
However, legal experts say the government should have sought the court’s permission before converting Dar’s residence into a shelter home.
“The government may auction the property with the permission of the court, but it cannot bring it into its own use for any purpose until the matter is adjudicated,” Barrister Omer Malik told Arab News.
He said the court may initiate a contempt proceeding against the Punjab provincial administration, or order it to maintain the status quo over the property.
“It’s purely the court’s discretion to decide the matter now,” he added.