LAHORE: Justice Mamoonur Rasheed Sheikh of Lahore High Court on Monday restrained the authorities from demolishing the outer walls of the Governor’s House. The judge ordered that not a single brick of the wall should be dislodged. The judge also sought detailed replies from the federal and provincial governments on legal questions raised in the petition. The judge warned that the violators of the stay order will be sent to jail. He issued the stay order on a petition challenging the decision of the government to bulldoze the boundary wall of the Governor’s House following instructions by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. Earlier the petitioner’s counsel Ahsan Naveed Farooqi said that the prime minister had ordered demolition of the Governor House’s boundary wall in a bid to make the colonial-era building visible to general public. He said that on the PM’s order, on Sunday, the government started demolishing the boundary wall of the Governor’s House. He pleaded that it was gross violation of various sections of the Punjab Special Premises, Ordinance, 1985 and the Antiquities Act, 1975. He submitted that the Governor’s House had a cultural, architectural and historic significance and was protected under section 10 of the National Antiquities Act 1975 and section 5 of The Punjab Special Premises Ordinance 1985 respectively and the laws strictly prohibited destruction of special premises. He also submitted that the decision to demolish the boundary wall of the Governor’s House raised several questions among the people, who considered it as a heritage site. He said that such demolishing required a mandatory permission from the provincial cabinet but it was not done in case of this building. He also submitted that for this action, security measures were not adopted by the government. He requested to restrain the government from demolishing the wall of the Governor’s House it being an unlawful act. He further requested for legal action against those who instructed the demolition and were involved in bulldozing the walls. An officer of the Punjab government said that the boundary walls of the Governor’s House did not fall within the definition of the protected premises. He prayed to dismiss the petition as misconceived. In the first phase, the boundary wall from the Mall side to Alhamra was to be demolished. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar himself monitored the demolition process. The Governor’s House administration, following the instructions of the PM, started demolishing the wall which will be replaced by a metal fence. Separately, Chaudhry Sarwar said the perception that the government wanted to bulldoze the Governor’s House was not true. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), before elections, had pledged to demolish the walls and open the Governor’s House for the public. To a question, he said the decision to convert the building into a library or a museum would be taken by the prime minister himself. He said the PTI had presented itself for accountability after the completion of its first 100 days. He said the PTI wouldn’t support any corrupt element and if there was any corruption scam, it must be brought to surface. Published in Daily Times, December 4th 2018.