Two ICT officials summoned

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has summoned two ICT administration officers serving as caretakers for Soan Garden housing society’s management committee to a court hearing on Monday.

Assistant Commissioner Captain Fariduddin Mustafa and Deputy Registrar Cooperatives Farasat Ali khan were issued notices when members of the previous management committee of Soan Garden housing society, including Alam Zaib, Muddasir and Nasir Habib Qureshi, appealed to the SC to be reinstated as committee members.

According to sources, Zaib was appointed as Administrator Caretaker (AC) for the housing society’s management committee in November 2009. Zaib’s tenure was to last for 2 months, after which a new AC was to be elected. However, Zaib, along with other committee members, managed to keep their positions for about 6 months. Instead of holding elections, they filed various civil suites under ghost names and received stay orders against the elections, thus prolonging their tenure beyond the specify period of two months, sources added.

During the time they were part of the committee, residents of Soan Garden wrote several applications to the ICT administration against them on account of various malpractices, included bribery, illegal allotment of plots and selling assets of the society

Responding to the complaints, the ICT administration removed all members from the management committee and appointed Fariduddin Mustafa, Assistant Commissioner Saddar ICT, as the new AC for Soan Garden.

Since Farid’s appointment, ex-members of the management committee filed various complaints against him and managed to get a stay order against him from Lahore high court Rawalpindi bench. However, the divisional bench of Lahore High Court, in an intra-court appeal, restored Farid as the AC.

During his tenure, several complaints were filed against him by the ex-management committee members, who managed to get a stay order against Farid’s appointment from Lahore high court Rawalpindi bench. However, the divisional bench of Lahore High Court in intra-court appeal restored the care taker administrator Farid. Now in a latest move, the land property dealer mafia has again moved the leave to appeal in the Supreme Court.

Sources said that an investigative audit has been initiated against the ex-management committee for their financial embezzlements, which is why these property dealers are using the judicial forum as a tool to evade justice.

Soan Gardens is a civilian employee cooperative housing society established since 1989. The Housing society consists of 1,500 houses and is situated on the main Islamabad Expressway zone V.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2010.