According to the formal order issued by the district magistrate of Islamabad, it has been brought to his notice that "some housing societies, trusts, limited companies, etc are operating in the territory of Islamabad in the manner not warranted by the law relating thereto.
Such societies, trusts, companies, etc allure the public at large by advertising and launching of housing schemes in the newspapers, magazines, brochures and booklets.
Such societies, trusts, companies etc invite membership either in excess of the land available to them or without having any land at all." After recounting many evils associated with this practice, like frauds, forgeries and other offences, the order says that "I do hereby prohibit any sort of publication regarding launching of any housing scheme, availability or sale of plots ... unless prior permission is obtained from the district magistrate, Islamabad."
The order shall come into force with immediate effect and remain enforced for a period of 60 days. We are at our wits' end to decide whether we should acclaim it as a prompt measure in public interest or to dismiss it as a bureaucratic ritual signifying nothing more than ego satisfaction.
Ordinary people in Pakistan have been victims of so many fraudulent practices and robbed of their earnings that it is difficult to keep count.
The trick to dupe the people, however, could be different every time, depending, of course, on the changed environment and psychology of the victims in a particular situation. During the last two years or so, the prices of real estate and in particular those of open plots in major urban areas of the country have skyrocketed due mainly to vast inflow of home remittances and the absence of proper investment avenues to absorb this money.
The demand for residential plots seems to have grown recently so heavy that buyers and speculators rush to buy them even at very inflated prices as soon as these are offered for sale.
Some unscrupulous elements of the society, particularly land developers with dubious bonafides, saw a chance to make a fast buck and jumped into the field to offer the required land without owning it or proper clearance from the relevant authorities. The result was obvious.
Many households lost their lifelong savings while so-called housing companies and developers decamped with their money. One could see many people who are wailing about this brazen plunder and cursing the government for not warning them in time and doing anything to retrieve their money.
Sadly, if anything is done at all, it is not before a major damage has been already inflicted and the suffering has become too severe and widespread.
In keeping with this shameful tradition, the Islamabad administration has also belatedly come into action after a lot of people were defrauded by land developers and housing companies, promising handsome deals in prime locations around the capital city at affordable prices.
In most cases, buyers were enticed through wide publicity campaigns on electronic media which, to the ordinary people, seemed to imply the backing of public authorities.
The propaganda was at times so effective that in one instance application forms could only be obtained by paying a hefty premium in the black market.
The Islamabad district magistrate's order, officials would claim, has been issued to save the people from being looted by the plot mafia, but for all intents and purposes its utility seems to be very limited.
As pointed out earlier, not only its issuance has been unduly delayed but it is applicable only to the city of Islamabad. Since such action has not been taken simultaneously in other cities, the plot mafia engaged in shady deals could easily shift their activities to cities like Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.
This is only one aspect but the major problem is why the authorities consistently fail to realise the gravity of the situation and do not act in time.
The relevant order issued by the government on 17th September begins with the observation "whereas it has been brought to the notice of the district magistrate, Islamabad that...".
The wording of the order may be in accordance with the legal requirement but seems to indicate as if the district magistrate or other government functionaries were not at all aware of what was happening in the city and it was only after somebody informed them about the misdeeds of the plot mafia that they came to know about the unfortunate situation.
Such an attitude speaks volumes about the callousness of the government to attend to the real problems and provide timely information and justice to the people at large.
It may be pointed out that this is not the first instance of its kind. People have been robbed of their savings earlier while government has generally been a bystander or acted too late to be of any real help to the victims.
The memory of co-op scandal in Punjab, finance companies in Karachi and foreign exchange companies in all the major cities of Pakistan is still fresh in the minds of the people.
Even some of the financial institutions under the very nose of the State Bank of Pakistan had offered rates of returns to the depositors which were totally out of line with the prevailing market situation and proved fatal for the gullible. Dubai deception is still going on in full view of the authorities.
People are lured to buy beautiful flats in the port city through the print and electronic media with this promise of automatic right to visa facilities and residency.
Nobody is coming forward to tell the prospective buyers that such transactions are illegal because of restrictions on capital movement from the country. Silence of the official quarters (the State Bank and the Ministry of Finance) encourages agents to make hay while the sun shines.
We would urge the new government of Shaukat Aziz to save the people from this kind of thuggery by warning the concerned authorities to always be on the look-out for elements indulging in such dubious practices, inform the people in time and arrange to give exemplary punishment to the guilty parties.
Autonomous institutions like the State Bank also need to play their part more effectively even if banning and punishing such elements does not fall strictly under their jurisdiction.
This is essential because people at large in the country are gullible and an easy prey to the wickedness of those who are out to rob them through various tactics. At the same time, police and justice system needs to be geared to be evolve severe deterrent measures to nip the evil in the bud.
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