National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday arrested provincial minister Revenue, Syed Murid Kazim for alleged involvement in corruption and corrupt practices, included misuse of authority.
The accused in connivance with the then Qayyum Nawaz District Officer (Revenue and Estate) currently posted as Assistant Commissioner Lakki Marwat, Riaz Muhammad District Officer Revenue and Estate and Gul Hassan Assistant Board of Revenue Department Govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa involved in corruption, corrupt practices and misuse of authority in illegal transfer of valuable state land measuring 1976 Kanals situated in DI Khan as alternate land to Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation (NFRO) in 2010 and subsequently unlawful transfer of 182 Kanals residential land to officers of Revenue Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as kickbacks.
Chairman NAB rejected the Voluntary Return application of the accused and ordered to arrest the accused without delay. The modus operandi adopted by accused persons was that in 2009 Director Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation, Bahawalpur, sent an application stating therein that about 1976 Kanals land allotted to Pakistan Navy is not cultivable therefore it may be exchanged with better and cultivable land.
As per rules, allotment of alternate land was the competency of Chief Minister of the province, yet accused Murid Kazim being Revenue Minister abused his authority and directed Board of Revenue KP to put up note for allotment of alternate land to NFRO Bahawalpur and gave illegal approval to the transfer of 1976 Kanal land to the Organisation. Accused Riaz Muhammad, ex-District Officer (Revenue and Estate) DI Khan included valuable commercial and residential properties in the proposal which were later on allotted to officials of Revenue Department KP. Accused Murid Kazim got allotted 50 Kanal land in the name of his closed associate Syed Atta Hussain Shah.
Similarly, accused Gul Hassan got 33 Kanals of land in DI Khan and accused Qayyum Nawaz, ex-District Officer (Revenue and Estate) DI Khan got 04 kanals and 03 Marlas in the heart of DI Khan City. The land measuring 100 kanal worth millions of rupees has already been recovered as voluntary return by NAB and has been returned to Govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The accused persons will be produced before the Accountability Court for obtaining their physical remand to proceed further as per law.