Evacuee Trust Property Board

Evacuee Trust Property Board(ETPB), is a statutory board of the Government of Pakistan, is a key Government Department which administers evacuee properties, including educational, charitable or religious trusts left behind by Hindus & Sikhs who migrated to India after partition. It also maintain and upkeep places of worship belonging to Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan.[1]

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Pakistan
Agency overview
JurisdictionGovernment of Pakistan
Headquarters9 Court Street, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan
31.5546°N 74.3572°E / 31.5546; 74.3572
Agency executive
  • Dr.AAmer Ahmed, Chairman
Websitehttp://www.etpb.gov.pk/

Constitution of the Board

The ETPB is governed by the Board constituted by the Federal Government.The board has 6 official and 18 non-official members.Presently, of the six official members of ETPB are Muslims and of the out of the 18 non-official members, only eight are from the minority Hindu and Sikh communities.[2]

Background

Evacuee Trust Property Board was established in 1960 to look after the temples and land left over by the Sikh and Hindus who migrated to India during partition in 1947-48. The board functions under the Act (Management & Disposal) No.XIII of 1975. The board was started as a result of Nehru-Liaqat Pact in 1950) and Pant Mirza Agreement in 1955) to guarantee the rights of the minority Hindus and Sikhs.[3]

Properties

The board controls and manages 109404 acres of agricultural land and 46499 of built-up urban sub-units[4] in accordance with two schemes namely, “Scheme for the Lease of Evacuee Trust Agricultural Land, 1975” and “Schemes for the Management and Disposal of Urban Evacuee Trust Properties, 1977. (Evacuee Trust Properties essentially are the properties attached to charitable, religious or educational trust or institutions.

Healthcare

The board runs the Janki Devi Jamiat Singh hospital and seven health centers.

Educational Institutes

The following educational institutions are functioning and imparting education specially free of cost education to minorities:

  • Hazrat Ayesha Sadiqa Degree College Lahore
  • Dr. Mateen Fatima Trust model School
  • Trust Model Public High School

Corruption

In December 2017, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar during the hearing of a case on Katas Raj Temple in Chakwal expressed displeasure at the absence or displacing of idols from the temples, demanding to know why there were no statues in the temples of Shiri Ram and Hanuman. The bench was told that Asif Hashmi, a former chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), earned millions of rupees from corruption [during his tenure] and then ran away [from Pakistan].[5] The current Chairman of the board, Mr. Saddique, also highlighted his "fight against corruption" [within the Board] in his message on the official website of the Board.[6]

Criticism

No minority representation

The ETP board is often criticised for not having enough Hindu and Sikhs members on the board. During the signing of Liaqat-Nehru pact, both Pakistan and India agreed to appoint Muslim head in India and Hindu head in Pakistan to look after evacuee property. However, since independence, the government never appoint Hindu citizen as the Chairman of ETPB.[7].Presently, of the six official members of ETPB all are Muslims and of the out of the 18 non-official members, only eight are from the minority Hindu and Sikh communities.In 2018, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Hindu member of the national assembly (MNA) presented the Evacuee Trust Properties (Management and Disposal) Bill 2018 which says that only a Hindu/Sikh should be appointed as the chairperson of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) .But the bill was rejected by the assembly’s standing committee on religious affairs in 2019.[8]

Leasing Hindu Temples

ETPB is criticised for leasing Sacred Hindu temples to land grabbers. The ETPB rented out the historic Kali Bari Hindu Temple to a Muslim party in Dera Ismail Khan. This historic temple is being converted and used as Taj Mehal Hotel. The Frontier Constabulary officials, with the help of the ETPB, occupied the Shamshan Ghaat in Dera Ismail Khan and the Hindu community is unable to cremate their dead because of the unavailability of Shamshan Ghaat and is forced to bury them in a graveyard shared my members of other faiths.[9]

See also

References
  1. Evacuee Trust Property Board
  2. https://m.timesofindia.com/city/chandigarh/pak-hindu-leader-challenges-rejection-of-bill-on-evacuee-board/articleshow/71431905.cms
  3. https://www.etpb.gov.pk/about-etpb/
  4. "AGPR Starts Audit Of Kartarpur Corridor: Audit Officials". UrduPoint. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  5. "SC bars lower courts from hearing cases on Katas Raj temple". The Dawn newspaper. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. "Chairman's Message". The Dawn newspaper. December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. https://wap.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/pak-hindu-council-criticises-appointment-of-muslim-as-etpb-chairman-119050601162_1.html
  8. https://m.timesofindia.com/city/chandigarh/pak-hindu-leader-challenges-rejection-of-bill-on-evacuee-board/articleshow/71431905.cms
  9. https://tribune.com.pk/story/686952/95-of-worship-places-put-to-commercial-use-survey/?amp=1
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