‘Relatives of expats are grabbing their land’

OPC commissioner says about 60% of total complaints received are related to occupation

LAHORE: It is mostly close relatives that are involved in 90% cases of land grabbing of overseas Pakistanis, said Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC) Commissioner Afzaal Bhatti.

About 60% of the total complaints received by the commission are related to land grabbing and other complaints are related to financial issues and loans and police matters, he told The Express Tribune in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.



“Pakistanis who live abroad cannot take care of their properties as they visited home for a short time, he said. “Usually, they provided power of attorney to their relatives or possession over to take care of properties in their absence. Therefore, the relatives misused this power and grabbed their properties.”

Considering the issues and problems faced by expatriates, the government of Punjab established OPC after legislation through the Punjab Assembly in November 2014. Punjab was the first province that facilitated expatriates, Bhatti claimed.

The OPC has received over 10,200 complaints so far. About 50% of them have been resolved, he claimed, while the rest are either in process or have been disposed of.



Approximately, 27 of the pending complaints are lying with the Chief Election Commissioner Islamabad, 39 with FIA, 15 with NADRA, three with Immigration and Passport, 511 with courts, 11 with the Anti-Corruption Establishments, 31 with Lahore Development Authority, 33 with Board of Revenue and rest of them with District Overseas Pakistanis Committee. The OPC has evacuated over 6,000 kanal of land, over 170 houses and plots on the complaints of expatriates.

The government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was impressed with the way OPC facilitated overseas Pakistanis so they replicated the set up with the commission’s assistance, said Bhatti. “We helped them develop complaint portals, legislation and have also imparted training to their officials.”

The softwares/portals of the OPC were developed by the Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB). A complainant sitting anywhere in the world can file complaints online. He can also file complaints through their helpline 042-111-672-672 round-the-clock or register by hand at reception centres of OPC. Once the complaint is received, it is vetted by the commission. It is forwarded to the authorities concerned for the redressal of the issue. The authorities concerned were asked to submit an initial report within seven days. They were ordered to resolve the complaint within one month. The time span could vary also according to nature of the complaints, Bhatti said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2017.