ABAID ULLAH KHAN, J.--The facts relevant for the purpose of disposal of this appeal against the judgment and decree of the learned Senior Civil Judge, Kasur, dated the 14th June, 1986, dismissing the appellants' suit for possession by pre-emption of 306 kanals 16 marlas of the land m dispute, situate in the area of village Hare Har, tehsil and district Kasur, may be shortly stated. The land in question lies in the border area and was allotted to Brigadier Ghulam Muhammad who acquired its ownership. With the permission of the Army General Headquarters he sold the land to the respondents by means of a sale-- deed which was executed on the 20th and registered on the 21st July, 1980. The appellants instituted suit on the 17th January, 1981, to pre-empt the sale. They claimed superiority of pre-emptive right on the basis of being owners of the estate which qualification, as they said, was not possessed by the respondents.
2. The respondents contested the suit and inter alia objected to its maintainability on the ground that since the appellants had not secured permission of the General Headquarters to purchase the land they were ineligible to its transfer in their favour. The learned trial Civil Judge was favourably impressed by this objection and consequently non-suited the appellants.
3. The learned counsel for the appellants has contended that the appellants' right of pre-emption was as a matter of fact a right of substitution for the vendees and the exercise of that right could not be conditioned with securing of permission for purchase of the land from the General Headquarters. The learned counsel for the respondents is not in a position successfully to controvert this proposition. The view formulated by the learned Civil Judge to the contrary cannot be upheld. The suit was clearly maintainable.
4. However, the learned counsel for the appellants concedes that in face of the law laid down by the Supreme Court of Pakistan is Sardar A.I versus Muhammad A.I PLD 1988 Supreme Court 287 and Ghulam Qadir versus Nawab Din PLD 1988 Supreme Court 701 since no decree was passed in the appellants' suit before the 31st July, 1986, it cannot succeed. Consequently the appeal must fail and is dismissed. The parties arc left to bear their own costs.
H.B.T./W-60/L