ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s central leader Shafqat Mahmood on Tuesday alleged that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Akram Khan Durrani had illegally taken over 1,200 kanals of land allocated for families of martyrs and demanded that the matter should be investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club here, Mr Mahmood, who is also the head of the PTI’s anti-corruption cell, said that in 2001 the KP government had given 140,624 kanals (17,578 acres) of land to Pakistan Army in Dera Ismail Khan for families of Kargil martyrs, and other deserving serving and retired officials of the army.

“As per terms and conditions signed by the KP government and the GHQ, only legal heirs of the martyrs and deserving army personnel were entitled to the allotment. However, in 2002 when the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) government came to power in KP and Mr Durrani became the chief minister, they both managed to get 600 kanals of land each and transferred the land in the names of their front men,” he said.

“In 2008 when the Awami National Party and Pakistan Peoples Party formed the government in KP, the Revenue Minister Makhdum Zada Mureed Kazim from D.I. Khan also started efforts, like Maulana Fazl and Mr Durrani, to get the share in the land. In 2010-11, Mr Kazim illegally got allotted 150 kanals of land to his front men.

“In 2009/10, the NAB, KP, started an inquiry into the illegal allotment of the land to Maulana Fazl and Mr Durrani. Later, a second inquiry was started against Mr Kazim,” he said.

Mr Mahmood said that NAB not only arrested Mr Kazim, but he had been facing the case since then, but Maulana Fazl and Mr Durrani were neither arrested nor cases against them were pursued or taken up because they politically managed them.

He urged the current chairman of NAB to look into the issue and explain why cases were not pursued against the two leaders.

“Mr Durrani has a number of properties in different areas of the country and his property does not match with his known sources of income so NAB should initiate cases against both personalities because they have deprived families of martyrs from their due rights,” the PTI leader alleged.

He said that allegations should be investigated so that the land was handed over to the deserving people.

He, however, did not reply to the question if the KP government would officially take up the matter with NAB.

Earlier, Mr Mahmood said that Maulana Fazl had been enjoying the status of the chairman of the Kashmir Committee for over a decade, but he has done nothing for the Kashmir cause.

“Currently, a massacre is going on in Kashmir but the Maulana is just enjoying the status of the chairman of Kashmir Committee and its matching perks and privileges, including a residence in Islamabad, vehicles etc,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2018