ETPB Seals Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli Residence Amid Legal Dispute

On Thursday, the Lal Haveli residence of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the leader of the Awami Muslim League (AML), was sealed by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in Rawalpindi. Asif Khan, the deputy administrator of ETPB, conveyed to the media that Sheikh Rashid’s submission of documents for the property was deemed invalid, leading to the complete sealing of his former interior minister’s residence.

The decision to vacate Lal Haveli had been authorized by the ETPB chairman, as stated by the deputy administrator. This operation was carried out in the early morning hours with the presence of both the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and a substantial police force.

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Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, the nephew of the AML chief, released a video statement asserting that Lal Haveli had been registered in the name of Sheikh Siddique back in 1988. He mentioned that all property records had been submitted to the deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi.

Furthermore, he noted that they had already submitted their response to the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench and planned to appeal against the ETPB’s decision to seal their property in the high court the following day. He expressed his concerns, stating, “Today is the dark night of cruelty, efforts are being made to arrest me too.”

After the operation, ETPB assumed control of Lal Haveli and stationed security personnel outside the residence. Earlier this year, ETPB had sealed Lal Haveli, but it was promptly reopened following orders from the LHC Rawalpindi Bench. At that time, Sheikh Rashid accused ETPB officials of misusing their authority at the behest of political figures.

This development occurred shortly after the arrest of Sheikh Rashid, a close associate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, in Rawalpindi, according to his lawyer, Sardar Abdul Razaq. The lawyer reported that Rashid was apprehended by plainclothes individuals from a housing society in Rawalpindi, and he was taken into custody from a rented house within the housing society.

Razaq also claimed that no case had been registered against the AML chief within the jurisdiction of Punjab, adding that Rashid was named in a case filed at the Kohsar police station related to a PTI protest rally held on May 10 in protest of the detention of Imran Khan, the former prime minister.