The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed an appeal filed by the Peshawar Afghan Commissionerate and upheld a Peshawar High Court (PHC) decision, which requires the payment of outstanding rent and the removal of debris from land originally leased to Afghan refugees more than four decades ago.
The case stems from agricultural land in Chitral that was leased from the local residents in 1983 to establish a refugee camp for Afghan families fleeing conflict.
Although the camp was formally vacated in 2005, structures built on the land collapsed over time, leaving behind debris that, the affectees say, still prevents them from regaining full possession of their property.
They have also alleged that rent has not been paid since the camp was emptied nearly twenty years ago.
During Wednesday’s hearing, counsel for the landowners argued that despite the lapse of many years, the Afghan Commissionerate had neither cleared the remains of the camp nor settled the accumulated rent.
The debris, he said, continued to obstruct the handover of the land back to its lawful owners.
The Chief Justice, however, observed that since the camp had already been vacated, the affectees could themselves remove the debris.
The lawyer countered that the task required considerable expense, which he insisted was the responsibility of the Commissionerate, not the landowners.
The court then suggested granting the Afghan Commissionerate time until June to clear the site, should the affectees agree.
Ultimately, the SC upheld the rulings of both the district court and the PHC, which had earlier ordered the Commissionerate to pay rent and remove all remaining structures from the land.
