The Government of the Punjab initiated compulsory land acquisition proceedings on behalf of Lucky Cement (Pvt.) Ltd. for setting up of a cement plant and limestone quarry in village Buchal Kalan, Tehsil and District Chakwal. The project would have dispossessed a large number of villagers of their ancestral agricultural land. It would have stripped them of their identity, which is inextricable linked with their land. It would also have created unbearable environmental hazards for the population of surrounding villages. They would have been deprived of their right to life guaranteed by Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. The villagers instructed Ch. Imran Hassan Ali, Advocate Supreme Court, to challenge the compulsoy acquisition of their land through a Constitution Petition before the Honourable Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench. The Court accepted Ch. Imran Hassan Ali’s arguments at preliminary hearing of the case and issued an injunction restraining the Respondents from dispossessing the villagers. The Respondents instructed Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, the President Supreme Court Bar Association, to seek vacation of the injunction. However, the Court refused to vacate the injunction. Litigation continues. However, the villagers are safe for now.
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