Ojhri Camp land dispute: LHC disposes of plea, approves resolution via mediation

RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Rawalpindi bench has disposed of a plea concerning the 43-year-old Ojhri Camp land dispute case while praising the amicable resolution reached via mediation.

“From the material available on record, it is evident that the settlement has been arrived at voluntarily, without any coercion, pressure or undue influence and with the consent of both sides,” reads the seven-page verdict issued by LHC’s Justice Jawad Hassan on January 12.

Noting that the terms of settlement are lawful and do not offend any provision of law, the judgment said that the deal reflects a fair and pragmatic resolution of a longstanding dispute and adequately safeguards the statutory rights of the petitioners.

The case pertains to the decades-old dispute concerning the acquisition of around 259 Kanal land of the Ojhri Camp — in the early 1980s — for defence purposes by military authorities, namely Headquarters Army ADC, Rawalpindi, and the issue of relevant compensation.

The affected parties had contended that not only was the land was later used for commercial purposes, but they had also not been paid the agreed-upon compensation under the settlement back then.

The issue was further complicated due to the claims put forward by the residents who were left displaced after the 1988 Ojhri Camp blast.

During the case, Supreme Court Advocate Sardar Muhammad Ghazi submitted that: “Petitioners conveyed a concrete proposal whereby they agreed to accept the compensation amount as determined by the GHQ Board in the year 2014, i.e., Rs2.3 billion (inclusive of Customer Acquisition Cost), under protest, while expressly reserving their statutory and legal right to seek enhancement of compensation by filing a reference under the provisions of the 1894 Act.”

Noting that the mediation process, initiated under the Alternate Dispute Resolution Act, 2017 read with Section 89-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, with the object of resolving the long-standing disputes, the lawyer pointed out that it was facilitated under the supervision of the court and was willingly participated in by the respondents, and that it had now culminated successfully via the issuance of letter dated 06-1-2026 under the signatures of Lieutenant Colonel Wasiq Bashir, AQMG (Quartering & Land), whereby the respondents ((the Federation of Pakistan etc.) conveyed their acceptance of the proposal submitted by the petitioners (Ghazala Hussain etc).

In its order, the LHC commended the Pakistan Army Air Defence Command’s Lieutenant General Mohammad Zafar Iqbal for his “proactive and constructive role played in this regard, with a view to resolving the matter outside the strict framework of formal litigation”.

“Such an approach not only reflects institutional responsibility and cooperative dispute resolution but also serves to reduce unnecessary litigation, promote harmony between the parties and advance the broader objectives of justice by encouraging alternative and expeditious modes of dispute resolution,” reads the judgment.