ETPB Chairman Siddiqul Farooq Wednesday said that Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had been illegally occupying an Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) building built on 10 marla land for years without paying rent.
Addressing a press conference, he said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan should not to allow Sheikh Rashid to use his party’s platform as he was a government defaulter. It is important for Imran Khan to prove his claims of transparency and fair play, he added.
“A tainted politician like Sheikh Rashid should not be allowed to speak in PTI gatherings till he clears ETPB’s dues of millions of rupees,” he said.
He said the ETPB had already issued a notice to Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for vacating the illegally occupied property, situated adjacent to the ‘Lal Haveli’ in Bhabra Bazar, Rawalpindi.
One room was being used as kitchen while a big hall and five rooms were occupied by Sheikh Rashid’s security guards, he added.
Siddiqul Farooq said Imran Khan, who was talking about cleansing national institutions and bringing transparency in governance, should not make alliance with such tainted persons. Sheikh Rashid, who also delivered lectures about transparency and fair play, should first make himself clean, he added.
Responding a question regarding the ownership of Lal Haveli, he said if it was not owned by Sheikh Rashid, then why was he using it and inviting foreign dignitaries, including Lalu Prashad there besides deploying security guards.
He said the ETPB had over 14,000 buildings and over 110,000 acre land across the country.
Replying to another question, Siddiqul Farooq said he had already initiated action against illegal occupants and cancelled some allotments in Lahore and Nankana Sahib.