For past three years, the Leader of Opposition in National Assembly has been crying hoarse about pilferage of state and private lands by land mafia, with known links to those in power. The role of CDA Islamabad was the subject of much controversy and painted to be the cauldron, where scams are cooked. The unfortunate reality is that not only is the cancer of greed motivated corruption rampant within our civil or uniformed bureaucracy, but all the major political parties including PPP, MQM, PML-N, PTI, JUI-F and PML-Q all have their share of land mafia giants or pygmies funding their expensive campaigns. The only difference is the intensity and concentration of this mafia within these parties, which means more or lesser evil.
It came as a shock to many like me, that amongst those recruited on contract post retirement by former CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, include the very top retired executives, such as former Chairman CDA, whom Leader of Opposition would have us believe were the very epitome of corruption, with direct links to notorious land mafia tycoons, that literally run this unfortunate nation. What are we now to assume, that these former very controversial and established corrupt officers, holding dual nationality with assets of billions, have been bathed and purified by Aab-e-Zam Zam, once they re-establish links with Sharif family or earn their goodwill, or are we to say this was like the proverbial “pot calling the kettle black”.
SHAHZAD KHALIL
Sialkot