The Sindh government has allotted thousands of acres of government land to Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz, according to a report placed by the Pakistan Rangers during a meeting of the apex committee in May.The Rangers told the committee that the provincial government had allotted 44,000 acres of government land to Bahria Town.The real estate firm said it had purchased the land from private parties and paid all duties and taxes. According to a report which Bahria Town recently placed before the Supreme Court, the real estate firm owns 40,000 acres land in different cities across the country.A legal aide to Malik Riaz told Dawn that the Rangers information was incorrect. He speculated that someone might have passed incorrect information to Rangers. According to him, Bahria Town had purchased a total of 7,631 acres in Karachi to date.A senior official of Bahria Town, retired colonel Khalilur Rehman, said the real estate firm had purchased the land from private owners at prices ranging from Rs850,000 to Rs 6,000,000 (six million rupees) per acre.If these allegations prove to be true, it would mean that the authorities have done a very poor job of monitoring and policing business in Pakistan and that the criminal activities of business owners go unnoticed and unchecked. If it is further proved that elected officials in Sindh have been colluding with the Bahria Town Foundation to help Malik Riaz acquire land illegally, or worse, allocated state land to Bahria Town, it would completely discredit both the Sindh government and the PPP. So far, the Rangers’ operation, which has been targeting organised crime in Sindh and particularly in Karachi, seems to be a sweeping effort that does not go easy on any of Sindh’s political parties (such as the MQM or PPP) or powerful businessmen. However, investigating the illegal businesses of entrepreneurs and the corruption of government officials does not fall in the jurisdiction of the paramilitary. Therefore, the federal government should set up investigation committees to gather evidence and involve NAB, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other related state institutions. If the Rangers’ report is substantiated, the case should be brought before the courts. Cases of this magnitude, involving major political parties and provincial governments, should not be investigated and adjudicated by the military. However, if there are corrupt politicians in the country who are in league with organised criminals and corrupt businessmen, they should be properly investigated and held accountable if found guilty.
pk.shafaqna.com
