Special audit targets JUI-F chief’s lands in K-P

Revenue board probes property tax discrepancies following year-old directive for scrutiny of property transfers

DI KHAN:

Land transfers involving properties registered in the names of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his brothers — Maulana Lutafur Rehman, Attaur Rehman and Ziaur Rehman — have come under scrutiny after the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Board of Revenue (BoR) ordered a special audit and verification of land records in Dera Ismail Khan and Paharpur over alleged irregularities.

The scrutiny stems from an official letter dated Oct 29, 2025, directing the Dera Ismail Khan deputy commissioner and district collector to conduct a detailed examination of property transfers, ownership documents and mutation registers relating to several properties in Abdul Khel, Shorikot and urban areas of the district.

The properties under scrutiny include a residential compound, a hujra (private chamber) and around 64 kanals of land in Abdul Khel; approximately 88 kanals of agricultural and 24 kanals of commercial land in Shorikot; and a residential and commercial property measuring 18 kanals and 12 marlas in urban DI Khan.

Read: CDA gives Fazlur Rehman's residence 15 days to remove alleged encroachments

The audit observations have raised questions about land classification, oral mutations, declared property valuations, and payment of government dues. The document also highlighted discrepancies between declared and estimated property values, potentially resulting in short payments of stamp duty and Capital Value Tax (CVT).

The BoR has directed the district administration to take original land records and cadastral maps covering the period from 2002 to 2025 into safe custody. A precautionary entry is also to be recorded to prevent further transfers of the properties under investigation.

The authorities have further been asked to issue notices for recovery of any outstanding government dues and initiate departmental inquiries into the conduct of the revenue officials concerned.

Copies of the letter were also sent to the principal secretary to the chief minister, the director general of K-P National Accountability Bureau, the chief commissioner of the Federal BoR’s Regional Tax Office in DI Khan, the divisional commissioner, the director of land records and the tehsildars of DI Khan and Paharpur.

However, the allegations and audit observations have not been independently verified.

No response from the individuals concerned or details of a final inquiry or judicial determination were available.