PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has adjourned the hearing of a petition against a 1975 notification declaring Chitral’s mountains, pastures and riverbeds as government property.
A bench comprising Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal directed both sides to present arguments on May 12.
Over 100 Chitral residents filed the petition, arguing that the notification threatens over 95% of the region’s land and could deprive locals of ancestral property.
Barrister Asadul Mulk, representing the petitioners, said the government had already claimed 97% of Chitral’s land using the notification. He accused the government of delaying the case since 2019.
The court earlier granted interim relief, allowing land settlement to continue without final decisions.