LAHORE (October 23, 2010) : The Lahore High Court (LHC) here on Friday hearing a petition seeking conversion of the Governor House into a housing colony directed the petitioner to submit his reply till November 08, against the presidential order converting it into residence of the Punjab Governor. The petitioner Iqbal Jafree also prayed to the court to direct the respondent to make the Governor House an architectural wonder of the world.

On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Naveed Inayat Malik told the court that in 1975 then president of Pakistan using his powers under the constitution had made the Governor House a personal residence for governor of the province and accordingly it is being used for the purpose.

The deputy attorney also objected to the petition saying the case was not maintainable, as the petitioner had no locus standi in the matter. He said the petitioner had no right to ask for conversion of the Governor's House into a colony. The petitioner argued before the court that provision of food, health, residential, educational facilities is the prime responsibility of the government as such, the revenue so collected from the plots in the Governor House would aptly serve this purpose.

Petitioner counsel said that like other democratic and civilised states, the Governor might be given an ordinary residence to live in. We are a poor economic state and such a luxurious and outstanding life style hardly matches with the ground realities of poverty in the country, the petitioner said.