This is apropos a Business Recorder news item "Pasha for revisiting policy of allotting state land" carried by the newspaper yesterday. According to it, former Finance Minister Dr Hafiz Pasha has stressed the need for revisiting the policy of allotting state land at a nominal rate to top civilian and military leadership.
Talking to Business Recorder, he reportedly said that state-owned land should not be given out to any individual whether civilian or military upon his retirement, adding that the distribution of virtually free land causes financial losses to the national kitty.
That Dr Pasha is a highly respected economist is a fact. He has sought to address an unsavoury controversy from a perspective that appears to be quite informed. Unfortunately, however, social media and a section of media have chosen to trigger a nasty over the state land issue. Pakistan Army has, therefore, strongly reacted by saying that the debate on allotment of agricultural land to former army chief General Raheel Sharif has a potential to create misunderstandings between state institutions. The army has raised the alarm about this dangerous debate. Hence the need to looking at the issue carefully. One must not lose sight of the fact that allotment of land to army officers and soldiers is in accordance with a constitutional provision.