SC seeks record of housing scheme ‘linked to ex-spymaster Gen Faiz’

The Supreme Court has directed the administration to provide a comprehensive record concerning the illegal Northridge Housing Society located in Sector C-12, which is allegedly encroaching upon the Margalla Hills National Park. The request for information came after a lawyer informed the court that the society’s owners maintain close ties with retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, the former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

“According to my client’s instructions, the owner of the society has a very close relationship with Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed,” Barrister Umer Ijaz Gillani argued, although he admitted lacking documentation to prove the ownership of the society.

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa addressed contempt of court petitions concerning violations of the Supreme Court’s June 11 order, which mandated the relocation of restaurants from the national park, including Monal, within three months.

During the proceedings, the court was made aware of the illegal housing society in C-12. Environmentalist Hameed Khan filed an application to join the case, which the court granted.

As a result, the Supreme Court ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the chief commissioner to provide a complete record of the housing society’s ownership along with all relevant documentation.

In his application, Hameed Khan claimed that the CDA had hastily handed over possession of 78 kanals of land, designated for the Forest Department, which included portions of the Margalla Hills, to the housing society known as Northridge Housing Society. This society has allegedly encroached on state land, generating substantial profits by selling plots on the encroached land as well as in the Margalla Hills.