PML-N's Afzal Khokhar arrested in land grabbing case

PML-N lawmaker arrested after appearing before SC in Lahore

LAHORE: Afzal Khokhar, an MNA from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was arrested from court premises in connection with a land grabbing case after the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar rejected his plea, seeking time till Wednesday morning for applying for a bail.

The CJP also ordered the Anti-Corruption, the Board of Revenue and the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to submit a report within seven days after determining whether the Khokhar brothers own the land where they presently live; whether its consolidation is according to law and whether the super structure is in accordance with the approved building plan.

The CJP also directed the revenue department to recover 500 acre land from different occupants of the land including the 48 acre land occupied by Shafi Khokhar, Afzal’s elder bother.

A two-judge Supreme Court bench headed by the CJP Nisar was hearing a suo motu against the allegedly illegal possession by MNA Afzal Khokhar and his brother Saiful Malook Khokhar, who is also a lawmaker in the Punjab Assembly.

As the proceedings commenced, the CJP asked where was Shafi Khokhar, elder brother of Afzal and Saiful Malook?. When Shafi appeared before the court, the CJP remarked that contrary to his description, Shafi appeared to be quite a young man.

Shafi Khokar sought permission to speak in Punjabi and said the court of the Almighty is the supreme and the biggest. This remark irked the CJP. “You will be hanged by this court. You are occupying properties of the poor and are now portraying yourself as a pious man. You get people killed,” he said.



The CJP also called the consolidation officer and the member of revenue. Khokhar’s counsel pleaded that there were different ‘Khasra-Numbers’ and 13 families of the Khokhar brothers live there. He said the land is owned by the Khokhars and there is no illegality about it.

Justice Nisar noted that the court wants to ascertain if any illegality is committed there.

He directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials to take Shafi along with them for a whole day and interview him to know from where the Khokhars obtained the properties and if they are rich people by birth.

The counsel of the Khokhars failed in producing order of consolidation. The CJP said he is asking very clearly how the consolidation was done after the scheme was approved.

Pointing Saiful Malook out, the CJP said: “Just check out his angry looks.” Malook said he was not getting angry. “You (CJP) are doing good work like taking suo muto notices to resolve problems of the poor people and making efforts to construct dams in the country.

The CJP asked who was doing consolidation at that time. Khokhars’ counsel said there was one Naveed Alam. He asked where was ‘Tehsildaar’ and ‘Kanogoh’. One Tehsildaar Haseeb Ahmed appearing before the court said Rizwan Butt was the Patwaari at that time when consolidation was done.

When the CJP was told that Butt had been suspended, he directed the police to produce the relevant people and directed the FIA to take Shafi for an interview. Approximately after one and a half hours, the bench resumed proceedings and passed the order.

DG Anti-Corruption informed the court that he did not agree with the tale narrated by Shafi Khokhar about his properties. He suggested the court to put names of the Khokhars on the Exit Control List (ECL).

A police official told the court that Shafi Kokhar had confessed to occupying 48 acre of land before the complaint cell the police had set up in that locality but now he denied any occupation. Shafi said he had only 25 acres and the rest he had purchased.

Khokhar’s counsel informed the court that he had come to know that one FIR had been registered against Afzal Khokhar despite the fact that he has nothing to do with this case. He prayed the court to pass directions not to arrest Afzal till Wednesday so that he could apply for bail.

The CJP, however, rejected the plea, asking why Khokhar could not go to the lockup. As Afzal left the courtroom, the Nawab Town police arrested him for his allegedly occupying lands of overseas Pakistanis.