KARACHI: More than 17 involved persons in Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s (KWSB) reserve land scam will be included in the inquiry by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The 25 acre reserve land of KWSB is located near Civic Centre near KBCA adjacent DC East, Karachi. The scam inflicted a loss of Rs 25 billion to national exchequer.
Brig (retd) Iftikhar Haider, former managing director KWSB, Syed Omar Ahmed and Shahid Rasool were arrested for their involvement in the scam. According to NAB officials, more arrest would be made in next few days.
Iftikhar Haider has been put on a five day remand by the NAB court. According to the officials of NAB, the permission for remand was granted after a thorough investigation by NAB.
The accused were wanted in an investigation on charges of illegal allotment of 25 acres government land of Evacuee Property Trust at Deh Okewari, which had been claimed by KWSB.
Allegedly, the land was illegally allotted by Gul Hassan Channa, the former Secretary at the Sindh Board of Revenue. Iftikhar Haider was accused of giving possession of the land to allottees despite knowing that the land belonged to KWSB.
“Iftikhar Haider in sheer violation of KWSB rules and regulations allotted reserved land 1.06 acres on plot no-297, 1.03 acres on plot no-298, 0.81 acre on plot no-299, 1 acre on plot no-300, 2.35 acres on plot no-301, 1.24 acres on plot no-302, 0.33 acre on plot no-303, 1.05 acres on plot no-304, 0.21 acre on plot no-305, 1.30 acres on plot no-306, 1.32 acres on plot no-307 and 2 acres on plot no-308 to these persons” read the notification.
Omar Ahmed and Shahid Rasool were charged for being illegal beneficiaries of the land.
NAB claimed that Group Captain (retd) Jawaid Ahmed, Staff Officer to former President Pervez Musharraf was also involved in the land scam.
During Mustafa Kamal city nazim period, possession of the land was transferred to P R Siddiqui and Mirza Mahmoob Baig under the name of Kulsoom Builders and Abu Bakr Sheikhani Builders.
Sindh Revenue Board, later in 1991, allotted this land to these two persons without informing KWSB. This allotment was made under directives of Imtiaz Sheikh, former principal secretary Chief Minister Sindh.
The other signatories in this illegal accord were Ghulam Ali Pasha former deputy commissioner east, Israr Shah, Assistant Commissioner east and Ghulam Hussain, a revenue board official.
NAB through letter issued and signed by Mirza Saqib on February 17, 2018 had started investigation against Gul Hassan Channa, former Secretary Board of Revenue and others. Mirza Aleem Baig, IO (IW-1) was investigation officer of NAB in the case.
It was revealed in investigation that Mirza Mehboob Baig and P R Siddiqui had claimed the land in their names. On intervention by KWSB, Supreme Court (SC) had cancelled these claims on false grounds but the accused continued to hold the land.
Land measuring 1.32 acres under survey 307-A near KWSB office on Shahrah-e-Faisal had been converted into flat area. A portion of the land had been mortgaged with different commercial banks on an amount of Rs1 billion by the accused.
