President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the orders of the Federal Ombudsman for Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace (FOSPAH) directing the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad to restore the possession of the 10-marla property to an elderly lady, whose property had been allegedly occupied by land grabbers in Bara Kahu area of Islamabad. The President gave these directions while deciding upon a representation filed by Malik Abdul Majeed and others against the orders of FOSPAH. As per details, Mst Munawar Bibi (complainant) had filed a complaint before FOSPAH under the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2020 stating that Malik Abdul Majeed and Jawad Shoukat (petitioners) belonged to a “qabza mafia” and had illegally taken possession of her plot by erecting boundary wall around it. FOSPAH passed the orders in her favour and directed DC Islamabad to restore possession of the complainant. The petitioners preferred a review petition which was rejected on the ground that it had been proved that Mst Munawar Bibi was the owner of the property and it was transferred in her name through the registered sale deed in 1979 and its entry had also been made in the revenue records. FOSPAH had directed the SHO of Bara Kahu Police Station to take steps to restore possession, take assistance from Patwari Halqa on the spot, and use all legal means in connection with the restoration of the plot to the complainant. The petitioners, then, filed a representation before the President stating that they were the owners of the plot and the land of the complainant was entirely different from theirs, but FOSPAH had failed to appreciate this fact. The President rejected the representation of the petitioners on the ground that representation had been filed after a delay of one month and twenty-five days when it should have been filed within 30 days of the receipt of the order. He observed that since the petitioners had not averred anything about the date of the receipt of the orders, thus, the representation was hit by the bar of the limitation. “Needless to observe that in case, any issue of proper identification of property arises, the same may be addressed in the implementation process”, he said. He concluded that the representation was not only time-barred but also devoid of merits and directed to implement the orders of FOSPAH.
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