Staff Correspondent
Chitral, July 9, 2026: The Peshawar High Court has dismissed multiple appeals in the long-running Lenik Case, while directing that pending civil disputes over the land be decided by the competent civil courts after recording evidence.
According to Waqas Ahmed Advocate in Chitral, the dispute began during the construction of the Chitral-Booni Road by HAKAS Company when Ghulam Jilani filed a civil suit claiming exclusive entitlement to compensation for the acquired land.
The trial court initially ruled that the compensation should be shared among the rival claimants. Since Ghulam Jilani had already received the amount through a bank guarantee, he challenged the verdict before the Peshawar High Court.
The High Court remanded the case to the trial court and directed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government be made a party. After fresh proceedings, the trial court ruled that the sloping land was government property, while the plain area formed part of the communal land (Shamilat-e-Denin), and ordered Ghulam Jilani’s heirs to return the compensation.
The heirs challenged the ruling, and following another remand by the High Court, the trial court decided the case in their favour. The provincial government, through its revenue officer, challenged the verdict, arguing that the land was part of the riverbed and belonged to the government. However, the High Court rejected the government’s appeal along with appeals filed by other parties.
The court also dismissed an application filed under Section 12(2) of the Civil Procedure Code against HAKAS Company, observing that the matter is already pending before the Supreme Court.
In another connected dispute relating to a portion of the Lenik area, revision petitions filed by Ghulam Jilani’s heirs were withdrawn, allowing the remand order passed by the sessions court to stand.
In its 27-page judgment, the High Court clarified that the Deputy Commissioner’s decision on customary rights dated April 8, 1991, as well as other pending civil suits, would remain unaffected by the verdict. It directed the relevant civil courts to decide those disputes independently on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law.
The High Court dismissed appeals filed by the residents of Denin Lasht, Hidayatullah and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, while revision petitions filed by Ghazi Ahmad against Ali Diyar and the residents of Denin Lasht were withdrawn.
