Land scams: Spineless admin unable to touch ‘guilty’ officer
A parliamentary panel found the circle registrar guilty of embezzlement.
The housing society, launched in the late 80s, was supposed to provide land to its 3,000 members, but it turned out to be a Rs500 million scam. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Government organisations are notorious for initiating inquiries and then throwing up red-tape in the implementation of the ensuing recommendations. Files upon files of inquiries gather dust but rarely are the officials found guilty ever brought to justice for their misdeeds or financial misappropriation.
A former official of the Islamabad administration, who is allegedly involved in multi-billion land scams, including the infamous National Assembly Employees Housing Scheme (NAEHS), is a case in point.
Malik Deen, a circle registrar, was among four officials who were declared guilty by a parliamentary panel. The other guilty officials were former Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Faiz, two former administrators of the scheme --Tariq Ayub Khakwani and Shahid Jilani. After the findings, the respective departments were supposed to initiate inquiries against the officials.
The housing society, launched in the late 80s, was supposed to provide land to its 3,000 members, but it turned out to be a Rs500 million scam.
Deen, who engineered a Rs7.1 million scam by establishing a fake housing society in the capital’s suburbs in 2005, continues to evade the long arm of the law. Since 2011 inquiries initiated by the chief commissioner seem to have stalled as there has been no progress so far, said official sources in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration.
Deen was only suspended from service on April 16, despite the fact the inquiries were initiated against him in 2011, according to a source.
“The finding of the inquiries should be made public as this would be the lesson for other officials” he added.
The sources told The Express Tribune that Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed wrote twice to then chief commissioner Tariq Mahmood Pirzada to initiate inquires against Deen, but the later failed to take the initiative. Several letters were forwarded to the interior ministry to initiate action against Deen but nothing came of it.
The sources said Pirzada was not interested in declaring Deen guilty as he was pressurised by a real estate tycoon for whom Deen played a key role in encroaching land in and around the capital.
Deen was also nominated in the first information report (FIR) registered with the Koral police for the murder of Malik Afsar on March 17, over a land dispute. However, he got bail from the Islamabad High Court last week but the bench directed him to cooperate with the police in the murder investigation.
“Usually inquiries against government officials do not yield results; they are just an eye-wash. Ultimately action is taken through court orders,” said another official requesting anonymity.
When contacted, Chief Commissioner Javed Paul claimed he had taken charge recently and had no idea about the inquiries. “I have not seen the files yet but once I do, I would be in a position to tell you about the exact status of the inquiries,” said Paul. He promised to make the findings public after the inquiries are completed.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2013.
Government organisations are notorious for initiating inquiries and then throwing up red-tape in the implementation of the ensuing recommendations. Files upon files of inquiries gather dust but rarely are the officials found guilty ever brought to justice for their misdeeds or financial misappropriation.
A former official of the Islamabad administration, who is allegedly involved in multi-billion land scams, including the infamous National Assembly Employees Housing Scheme (NAEHS), is a case in point.
Malik Deen, a circle registrar, was among four officials who were declared guilty by a parliamentary panel. The other guilty officials were former Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Faiz, two former administrators of the scheme --Tariq Ayub Khakwani and Shahid Jilani. After the findings, the respective departments were supposed to initiate inquiries against the officials.
The housing society, launched in the late 80s, was supposed to provide land to its 3,000 members, but it turned out to be a Rs500 million scam.
Deen, who engineered a Rs7.1 million scam by establishing a fake housing society in the capital’s suburbs in 2005, continues to evade the long arm of the law. Since 2011 inquiries initiated by the chief commissioner seem to have stalled as there has been no progress so far, said official sources in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration.
Deen was only suspended from service on April 16, despite the fact the inquiries were initiated against him in 2011, according to a source.
“The finding of the inquiries should be made public as this would be the lesson for other officials” he added.
The sources told The Express Tribune that Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed wrote twice to then chief commissioner Tariq Mahmood Pirzada to initiate inquires against Deen, but the later failed to take the initiative. Several letters were forwarded to the interior ministry to initiate action against Deen but nothing came of it.
The sources said Pirzada was not interested in declaring Deen guilty as he was pressurised by a real estate tycoon for whom Deen played a key role in encroaching land in and around the capital.
Deen was also nominated in the first information report (FIR) registered with the Koral police for the murder of Malik Afsar on March 17, over a land dispute. However, he got bail from the Islamabad High Court last week but the bench directed him to cooperate with the police in the murder investigation.
“Usually inquiries against government officials do not yield results; they are just an eye-wash. Ultimately action is taken through court orders,” said another official requesting anonymity.
When contacted, Chief Commissioner Javed Paul claimed he had taken charge recently and had no idea about the inquiries. “I have not seen the files yet but once I do, I would be in a position to tell you about the exact status of the inquiries,” said Paul. He promised to make the findings public after the inquiries are completed.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2013.