DHA City scam: NAB launches probe against Gen Kayani’s brother

Kamran Kayani played a lead role in getting the project from DHA

ISLAMABAD:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an investigation against the brother of former army chief General (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani over his alleged role in a Rs17 billion Defence Housing Authority (DHA) City Lahore scam.

The DHA City project was launched in 2009 primarily to accommodate and facilitate the families of “shuhada (martyrs), war wounded and soldiers of Pakistan armed forces by allotting them small size plots in recognition of their services for the country.”



Gen Kayani’s brother Kamran Kayani of Elysium Holding and Hammad Arshad of Globaco offered their services to facilitate DHA Lahore to carry out the project by acquiring land. However, they failed to deliver the plots to soldiers and families of shuhada and general public even after six years. This prompted DHA to lodge a formal complaint against Kamran Kayani and Hammad Arshad with NAB.



According to DHA officials, the housing authority accepted the offer in good faith. However, Kamran and Hammad ‘played dirty’ and embezzled the hard earned money of the general public, they said.

DHA sources said Kamran played the lead role in getting the project due to his ‘obvious’ closeness to concerned quarters. When the contract was awarded to Globaco and Elysium Holding, General Kayani was the country’s army chief.



NAB sources said the names of the concerned had been put on the Exit Control List and properties owned by them had been frozen.

It is pertinent to mention here that the same group is also involved in a corruption scandal in DHA Islamabad which NAB is investigating as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2016.