The bribery is so commonplace and regular that many consider this to be the legal fee.
KARACHI: I fully agree with the letter “Dens of corruption” by Mazhar Butt (January 9). It is a fact that the property registrars, — as confirmed by one of them to me personally — are appointed after bribes worth five million rupees exchange hands. Therefore, they have to recover this amount by hook or crook. The property registrars at certain housing authorities in Karachi routinely demand one ‘peti’ for a completely legal job. One peti in their language amounts to Rs100,000. If one does not pay this amount, the property registrars find flimsy reasons to explain why the job cannot be done. The bribery is so commonplace and regular that many consider this to be the legal fee. Buying, selling and registering property in Pakistan has become a demeaning experience because of these corrupt vultures sitting in their offices.
The authorities concerned must look into this serious issue and do something about resolving this state of affairs.
Professor Jaunaid R Qureshi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.
