Liaquat Ali Khan Qaimkhani, who was recently arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over embezzlement of billions of rupees as DG KMC Parks, has never filed income tax return during his service in KMC from 1986 to 2011; it is learnt here.

According to sources, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) after Qaimkhani's arrest by the NAB over his alleged involvement in the allotment of the Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim land to Bahria Icon Tower and embezzlement of billions of rupees in KMC as DG Parks funds, directed to examine his tax records in order to find tax anomaly against him.

However, the FBR database revealed that he had never filed income tax return during his service in KMC; sources said and added that he was fallen in the jurisdiction of Regional Tax Office (RTO)-III, Karachi. They said that Liaquat used to operate two bank accounts and paid hefty amount as school fee of his kids to the private educational foundation located at Clifton during tax year 2016, 2017 and 2018 but not paid tax under section 236I of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 against these payments.

Replying to a question, sources said that tax department had served notice to former DG KMC Parks, seeking clarification about his non-compliance of income tax returns, adding that system had now registered him automatically after the issuance of notice and action would be taken against him if he remained non-filer in tax year 2018-19.

Needless to mention, Liaquat Qaimkhani, who is from Mirpurkhas district, was first appointed as an assistant director in KMC's parks department in 1986 and later he was elevated to director general of the parks department and served on this position from 2001 to 2011 but never filed his income tax returns.

Before his arrest, he was serving as an "advisor" to Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar. However, City Mayor denied that he was his advisor, saying that no notification regarding his appointment as advisor had been issued by his office. He owned a 2000 square yards plot in Karachi's Pakistan Employees Cooperative Housing Society, which he later gifted to his second wife from where NAB had taken him into custody.

He was also alleged for over 150 illegal appointments from his native town in KMC's parks and horticulture department and running more than 100 nurseries in Karachi. NAB recovered a treasure from his residence, which consisted of gold, precious stones, hundreds of other valuable items, eight luxury vehicles, property documents and weapons.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019