Auqaf dept to explain throwaway sale of GOR land

Then-minister of department reportedly kept in the dark

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has sought a briefing from the Auqaf department over the sale of Waqf properties in GOR-I at throwaway rates. The move follows an investigation ordered into shops around the shrine of Baba Farid in Pakpattan that were unlawfully procured or allocated during the previous PML-N government’s tenure.

According to government sources, a 30-kanal space along Darbar Hazrat Shah Shams Qari Road, with a market value running into billions, was sold to the Lahore Development Authority at cost of Rs900 per marla in February 2009.

The Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has sought a report from Auqaf about the sale.

According to sources, the Auqaf secretary and the Estate director and deputy director will brief the CM.

The sources shared that the Auqaf authorities also provided records for Dardar Hazrat Shah Shams Qari National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore, according to which, the decision to sell the land to LDA was reached during a meeting led by then-chairman of the Lahore Ring Road Project and Solid Waste Management Khawaja Ahmad Hassan.

Mohsin Latif attended the meeting as member of the Punjab Assembly, Najam Saeed attended as Board of Revenue member colonies, Khizar Hayat Gondal (a future Punjab chief secretary) attended as Auqaf secretary,  Muhammad Rizwan Taqi attended as Punjab director general of Katchi Abadis, Khwaja Imran Raza (later provincial secretary) attended as PSO to the CM, Moazzam Rasheed attended as Lahore Katchi Abadi director, Syeda Kulsoom Haye attended as DDO (rural) for Cantt Lahore, Majid Zahoor (later member Punjab Assembly) attended as nazim of Union Council 78, Lahore, Ameer Gujjar attended as councilor for Union Council 78. Bashir Ahmed, Chaudhry Nazir and Sheikh Mehmood Ahmed attended as representatives of Shah Shams Qari.

Then Auqaf Secretary Gondal, in light of the decision of the meeting, prepared a summary on the same day – February 20, 2009 – and sent it to the CM House.

According to the sources, the record provided to NAB makes it clear that the opinion of the Lahore Zone administrator was not sought at the time of selling the land.

The Estate Directorate decided the matter at the head office. The summary was prepared in a few hours and sent to the CM House.

Syed Atiq Shah, who served as Estate deputy director back in 2009, has since retired, while then Estate director Khalid Mahmood Mela is now retired.

The sources shared that the summary was sent to CM House without the issue being brought to the attention of the provincial Auqaf minister.

The summary sent to the CM House stated that the Auqaf minister was away on a tour. According to records provided to NAB Lahore by the Punjab Auaf Department, the summary given to the latter was received after the approval of then-CM Shehbaz Sharif.

The summary, signed by then-Secretary to the Punjab CM Dr Syed Tauqeer Shah, declared that the chief minister examined and approved the decision recommended in paragraph 4. The land was sold soon after.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Aukaf Department had given a separate briefing on the status of Darbar Baba Fareed last year, while this year a separate briefing pertaining to the darbar adjoining GOR was given.

Punjab Auqaf Secretary Zulfiqar Ahmed Ghuman said the briefing has been prepared and they will brief whenever called to by the CM. All of the issues pertaining to both the darbars are very old, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2019.