PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa National Accountability
Bureau office has arrested ex-provincial minister for revenue Syed Murid Kazim and three revenue officials on Monday on allegations of illegal transfer of government lands in DI Khan.
The arrests made by the provincial NAB included current Assistant Commissioner Lakki Marwat Qayum Nawaz (ex-district officer revenue) and two revenue officers Riaz Muhammad (District Officer Revenue & Estate) and Gul Hassan (Assistant in KP Board of Revenue).
All the four arrested will be presented at the Ehtisab court in Peshawar for attaining physical remand for further interrogation. It is alleged that the ex-minister ganged up with the revenue officials to illegally transfer 247 acres of land belonging to the Pakistan Navy in the names of persons known to him and while transferring another 22.7 acres of land in his own name.
The modus operandi adopted by the accused persons was that in 2009 director of Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation (NFRO) Bahawalpur sent an application stating therein that about 247 acres of land allotted to the Pakistan Navy is not cultivable and therefore it may be exchanged with better and cultivable land.
As per rules, the authority to allot alternate land lies with chief minister of a province; yet accused Murid Kazim being revenue minister abused his authority and directed the KP Board of Revenue to put up note for allotment of alternate land to NFRO Bahawalpur and gave illegal approval to the transfer of 247 acres of land to the organization.
It merits a mention here that NAB has recovered land measuring 100 kanals worth millions of rupees as voluntary return which has been transferred to the Govenment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The NAB arrested the accused persons after completing its inquiry that started on July 15. All the persons were arrested from their homes during NAB raids. NAB sources say that inquiries against a number of ex-ministers are going to be initiated, including at least two females and ex-advisers belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP).
