The Punjab government cancelled the allotment of a plot to Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Fazal Karim on direction of the Supreme Court (SC), Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday.
Talking to Pakistan Today, he said the plot in question is located at Arshad Market, Jhang Bazaar, Faisalabad and was allotted eight months ago. The market value of the plot measuring 30 marlas was Rs 250 million but Karim did not deposit a single penny in the government’s exchequer, Sanaullah alleged. The minister said that religious leaders are lying that construction for a Jamia Rizvia’s hotel was in progress at the plot site.
Sanaullah said that Karim was allotted the plot illegally, as the apex court had already issued a verdict stating that the Punjab government has no right to allot plots on political grounds. “When we reviewed the apex court’s verdict, we found out that the allotment of the plot to Karim is illegal, therefore, we cancelled it immediately” he added.
Responding to a question, the minister acknowledged that he had accepted signing the cancellation order, as he has additional charge of minister for revenue and directed the district administration to acquire the plot from Karim’s possession. On being contacted, SIC spokesman Nawaz Kharal claimed that the version of the minister on the plot issue is incorrect. “Plot allotment to Jamia Rizvia, Faisalabad is not a new phenomenon.
It was allotted a few years ago and the SC passed the order some time ago,” Kharal said adding that price of the plot is not less than Rs 250 million. He said that plot allotment to the seminary of Karim is not a unique example, as leaders and seminaries of other sects got government plots for educational purposes in the past.