Jahangir Siddiqui’s name in FIR for land grabbing

Sindh revenue department takes sweeping action on encroached land.

KARACHI:

The Sindh revenue department has registered a case against prominent businessman Jahangir Siddiqui for allegedly illegally occupying a 1,000 square yard plot in Clifton.

Revenue official Mustafa Jamal Qazi and anti-corruption director Ghanwar Ali Leghari held a press conference Tuesday detailing sweeping action taken against land grabbers from whom 2,200 acres had been wrested.

According to Qazi, the Clifton plot was in the name of some other person and Siddiqui had used fake documents. “The FIR has been registered,” he said. “We are taking action against the big fish.” Two acres were also freed from Jahangir Siddiqui’s brother Zahid and a case was registered. “We are making a strong case against the arrested culprits but they were released on bail,” Qazi said.

One Ali Hassan Brohi was arrested for illegally holding lands in the airport and Gadap areas. Land marked for Education City is also being emptied as are farmhouses illegally built on poultry farms. “We are not afraid of the flags of political parties,” said Qazi.

The department is also inspecting highrise buildings and how plots reserved for welfare have been taken over. Leghari said that 511 cases have been completed and 26 people have been arrested.

He also said that the families of those people who have been killed in terrorist incidents in Wana, Waziristan, Swat and other parts of the countries will be given plots in Karachi and 500 acres have been allocated.  The victims’ families are applying.

The EDO said that they are making an effort to computerise land records and scan original documents. The land recovered from the possession of encroachers would be distributed among the heirs of armed forces personnel and civilians from all over Pakistan who have lost their lives in the fight against terrorism. A revenue judicial tribunal has also been set up to deal with land cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2010.