NAB arrests three suspects for land scam

Accused include former KWSB MD who was arrested in Rawalpindi

KARACHI: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Karachi claimed on Tuesday to have apprehended three suspects, including a former Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) managing director (MD), for their alleged involvement in a land scam.

The arrests were made during a series of raids conducted in Karachi and Rawalpindi during the last two days.

According to a NAB, Karachi spokesperson, the three suspects were wanted in a land scam. Of these three, former KWSB MD Brigadier (retd) Iftikhar Haider was arrested in Rawalpandi, while Syed Omar Ahmed and Shahid Rasool were nabbed in Karachi.



The federal anti-graft watchdog has charged the suspects with illegal allotment of 25 acres of land belonging to the Evacuee Trust Property Board located at Deh Okewari, which the water board claims to be its property, the spokesperson said. The land was illegally allotted in 1995 and subsequent transactions of the land by illegal beneficiaries continued till 2008.

The land was allegedly illegally allotted by another accused, Gul Hassan Channa, who was then serving in the Board of Revenue. Brigadier (retd) Haider allegedly transferred its possession to illegal allottees despite knowing that the land belonged to the KWSB.

Ahmed and Rasool have been accused of being illegal beneficiaries of the land worth Rs25 billion. According to the spokesperson, they will be produced before an accountability court for physical remand, whereas, transit remand will be asked for Brigadier (retd) Haider.