The ancient Katas Raj cluster of temples in Pakistan
Amritsar: The administrative control of the Katas Raj cluster of temples is back under Pakistan government’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).
The ancient Hindu shrine had been under the administrative control of the archaeology department of Pakistan’s Punjab province since 2006.
ETPB chairman Aamer Ahmed informed TOI on Friday, “ETPB had been looking after the management of religious rituals. Yesterday, we took over the administrative control of temple complex from the provincial government.”
ETPB secretary (Hindu shrines) Faraz Abbas said Pakistan’s former prime minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had performed the groundbreaking ceremony for restoring Katasraj cluster of temples, while handing its management to Pakistan Punjab’s archaeology department in 2006.
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Lahore, April 29
The Lahore High Court has called Pakistan army the country’s “biggest land grabber” and said its uniform was for the service to the nation and “not to rule as a king”.
Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Mohammad Qasim Khan, while hearing a land grabbing case, said he didn’t want to say anything wrong about the army, but the way it occupied the properties of people was nothing but land grabbing.
He said so while hearing petitions of three citizens seeking an order against the Defence Housing Authority to not disturb their lawful possession of the land they had obtained on lease from the Evacuee Trust Property Board. Regretting that the Army had also grabbed a piece of land owned by the High Court, Justice Khan said that he would instruct the LHC registrar to write to the army chief. PTI
LAHORE: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) provincial offices are all set to start a forensic audit of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) headquarters in Lahore from May 3.
“The forensic audit is being launched in light of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The first audit was launched last year on the orders of the federal government,” said an ETPB official while talking to Dawn on Thursday.
The Auditor General’s (Functions, Powers and Terms and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2001 read with articles 169 to 171 of the Constitution of Pakistan provides for the auditor general of Pakistan with the mandate to audit the accounts of the federal government and any authority or body established by or under control of the federal government.
LHC CJ rejects DHA’s request to expunge remarks
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April 30, 2021
LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Thursday turned down Defence Housing Authority’s request to expunge the remarks against the army but made it clear that remarks were neither against the armed forces nor were meant to hurt the feelings of anyone. They were made against the conduct of some specific persons.
As the hearing resumed on Thursday, DHA counsel Altafur Rehman made an oral request to the chief Justice to expunge the remarks made by him on Wednesday in which he termed the DHA the “biggest land grabber”. The DHA’s counsel said the remarks expressed by the chief justice against the army had caused concern in the institution, requesting the court to delete them.