Hyderabad: The heirs of the late Zawar Sajawal Khan Katiyar have appealed for justice over a 63-acre land dispute that they say has remained unresolved for more than four decades despite a court ruling in their favour.
Addressing a press conference at the Pakistan Press Club Hyderabad, family representative Harb Ali Katiyar said the case had remained under litigation for 42 years in various courts. He stated that the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad Bench, ruled in the family’s favour in 2001, and the judgment was later reported in PLD 2002.
According to the heirs, despite the court’s decision, the ruling has yet to be fully implemented.
The family alleged that instead of enforcing the judgment, certain government officials repeatedly claimed that the matter was subject to a stay order issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. They argued that the High Court judgment had been delivered before the alleged restriction and therefore should not have been affected by it.
The heirs further alleged that the repeated references to the purported restriction misled the court and unnecessarily delayed implementation of the judgment.
They also accused former Deputy Commissioner Matiari Muhammad Yousuf Sheikh, Mukhtiarkar Hala Nasrullah Chaudhry, and other officials of unlawfully transferring one acre of land located on the Bhit Shah Main Road, making entries in official land records, and facilitating the construction of a hotel, petrol station, and commercial shops on the property during the past four months.
The family questioned how changes to land records and development on the property could have taken place if the land was genuinely subject to legal restrictions, arguing that such actions appeared to conflict with court orders and could potentially amount to contempt of court.
The heirs called on the judges of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad Bench, to hear the case without fear or external influence, take strict action in any matter relating to alleged contempt of court, and ensure implementation of the judgment already recorded in PLD 2002.
They also urged the court to avoid unnecessary adjournments and instead focus on enforcing the existing decision to uphold the authority and dignity of the judiciary.
In addition, the family appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, the Board of Revenue Sindh, the Anti-Corruption Establishment, and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to conduct a transparent and impartial investigation into the matter.
They demanded the immediate implementation of the court’s judgment, an inquiry into the alleged illegal land transfer and record manipulation, legal action against any officials found responsible, and the transfer of Mukhtiarkar Hala Nasrullah Chaudhry, who they claimed had remained posted in the area for several years.
The allegations contained in this report are based on statements made by the heirs during a press conference. No response from the officials named in the allegations was immediately available, and the claims have not been independently verified.
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