Islamabad: The case of encroachment of the Indian Consulate building in Karachi took a new turn, with the Sindh High Court issuing a stay order restraining a local buyer who claimed to have bought the building from occupying the premises until next hearing on October 22.

Acting on a plaint filed by Syed Ali Baqir Naqvi, the Pakistani buyer who claimed to have bought the Indian Consulate building for Rs 40 million from an "authorised" owner, the High Court in Karachi on October 16 ordered that status quo be maintained until the suit come up for hearing on October 22.

Reacting to the court order, Indian High Commission officials said they have not received any further information from Pakistan Foreign Office, which forwarded the High Commission's complaint against the encroachment of the Consulate building to Sindh government for action.

In his plaint, Naqvi's lawyer Raja Qureshi who was also the former advocate general of the province claimed that his client was the rightful purchaser of the property.

Listing out the history of the ownership of the building, Qureshi argued that the plot was leased out by the Karachi Municipal Corporation to Parmanand Kundamal in January 1946 for residential purposes for 99 years, which in turn "came into possession" of Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India.

PTI