Hearing a Rs 6 billion land scam case in the National Police Foundation on Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed the registration of cases against all the people involved in the scam, including PML-N parliamentarian Anjum Aqeel Khan.
A three-member Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Muslim directed for strict action against all the accused involved in the scam, without bending to pressure from any quarter. The chief justice said prima facie the land contracts between the National Police Foundation (NPF) and M/s Land Linkers were not transparent and had caused huge financial losses.
The court admonished NPF Managing Director Zafar Qureshi for not getting the cases registered against the accused, including NPF officials, involved in the scam and directing him to proceed against the accused in accordance with law. The chief justice said the plots that were plundered were for those police officials who performed their duties on roads in dangerous situations. Qureshi told the court that embezzlements were made in allotment of NPF’s land and NPF officials were also involved in the scam.
He said the possession of 23 kanals of land of the total 126 kanals had been taken back, adding that worth of this land was Rs 2 billion. He said some plots from the retrieved land had been allotted to the affected people who had become rolling stones despite paying for their plots 10 years ago. Qureshi assured the court that cases would be registered against all the accused. He said Rs 6 billion would also be recovered from Anjam Aqeel Khan. The NPF MD said preliminary investigation of the scam had been carried out and the matter would now be sent to the Interior secretary to depute any appropriate official for further action.
The chief justice said the amount of the plundered land be recovered according to present market value. Lawyer for Anjum Aqeel told the court that he wanted to file his statement in the case. But the CJP told him to record the “statement with police, as we are not an investigating agency”. Meanwhile, Anjum Aqeel himself requested the court to hear him. The court accepted his request and allowed him to file his reply within a month.
Hamid Khan, lawyer for four accused directors of NPF, also requested the court to allow his clients to file their reply, which the court allowed. The court however directed Zafar Qureshi to continue his action in accordance with the law during the time the accused filed their reply. Further proceedings were adjourned for a month.