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Sheikh Rashid says he was treated well during ‘pilgrimage’

Vowing to contest the upcoming elections even if he was “arrested again”, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid on Monday disclosed he was “treated properly and no harm was inflicted” upon him during the time he went missing.

Rashid — a PTI ally — was reportedly arrested by “plainclothed” men from his residence in Rawalpindi on Sept 17. He resurfaced after a month in an interview with Samaa TV.

During the interview, the AML chief had said he was on a “40-day pilgrimage (chilla)” where he studied the Holy Quran in detail and introspected.

Speaking to the media today in Lahore, Rashid said: “They turned me into a new Sheikh Rashid. Even for Tahajud, they would give me warm water.”

“From Sep 17 to Oct 22 I was on a pilgrimage that made me a new Sheikh Rashid. I don’t know the cold place I was kept in,” he added.

The former minister went on to say that “we have never fought the army”.

“You picked up my cook Haneef, Imran, Shakir, Qamar and Bilal. They all are employees earning Rs30,000,” he said.

The AML chief added that he needed help from God, reiterating that he would contest the elections against the Pakistan Democratic Movement even if he was arrested again.

LHC orders de-sealing Lal Haveli

Earlier today, the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench ordered authorities to de-seal Rashid’s Lal Haveli residence.

Lal Haveli is the political office and public secretariat of Rashid. It was built over a hundred years ago by Dhan Raj Sehgal for Budhan Bai, a Muslim “dancing girl” from Sialkot. However, it was converted into a political hub in 1980 after Rashid entered parliamentary politics.

On Sep 21, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had sealed Lal Haveli after the board chairman cancelled the registry of the building.

The row over the property’s ownership surfaced last year when the ETPB claimed that the ownership documents of one of Lal Haveli’s seven units were “fake”. It said the total area of Lal Haveli was more than 16 marla and Rashid merely owned five marla in the upper portion.

Following the ETPB action, the AML chief’s brother, Sheikh Sadique, filed another plea with the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench, requesting that Lal Haveli be de-sealed and the ETPB be restrained from dispossessing him of the property or interfering in his possession in any manner till the final disposal of the petition.

During the hearing today, Justice Mirza Waqas Rauf said the applicant should be given the full opportunity to present his position. Rashid and his brother Sadique had requested the court to hear the application again.

“A law has been passed in India which resolves the issue of evicting properties forever,” the judge said. “Here, our departments do not function according to the law.”

Subsequently, the court directed the ETPB to de-seal Lal Haveli and directed it to hear the case again.



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