Investigation under way: NAB obtains physical remand of former revenue minister

Accused illegally transferred ownership of 1,976 kanals of land in DI Khan.

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa obtained a nine-day remand of former revenue minister along with three other government officials on Tuesday.

The accused were arrested a day earlier for misusing authority and illegally transferring ownership of land in the name of Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation.

The former cabinet member Syed Murid Kazim, incumbent Lakki Marwat Assistant Commissioner Qayyum Nawaz, District Revenue Officer Riaz Muhammad and K-P Board of Revenue official Gul Hassan were produced before the accountability court of judge Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.

Special prosecutor Daniyal Chamkani informed the court that the accused had illegally transferred the ownership of 1,976 kanals of valuable government land in DI Khan in the name of NFRO in 2010. They also illegally obtained some kanals of residential and commercial land in the same district. Their voluntary return application was also rejected by NAB chairman.

“In 2009, NFRO filed a request stating the 1,976 kanals of land allotted to Pakistan Navy officials is not cultivable therefore it should be exchanged with cultivable land,” read a statement issued by the bureau. “As per rules, the decision on alternative land is to be made by the chief minister but Murid, who was revenue minister at the time, misused authority and directed the K-P Board of Revenue to put up a notice for the allotment of alternative land and illegally approved the transfer of its ownership to the organisation.”

The statement added Riaz included valuable commercial and residential land in the proposal which was later allotted to officials of the revenue department. Murid got 50 kanals of land in the name of his close associate Syed Atta Hussain Shah. Similarly, Hassan obtained 33 kanals of land and Qayyum got four kanals and three marlas in DI Khan. Ownership of land measuring 100 kanals, worth millions of rupees, has already been given up by the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2015.