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PA fails to form body to probe DHA land scam
Saturday, November 29, 2008
By Babar Dogar The NEWS
LAHORE
THE Punjab Assembly Friday failed to constitute a house committee to probe a land scam involving the Defence Housing Society.
The august house that decides the fates of millions of people of the province succumbed to the government's pressure as Speaker Rana Iqbal - disregarding strong demand from majority of legislators from the treasury and the opposition - did not constitute a house committee to probe the alleged occupation of 45,000 kanals of government land by the DHA.
Revenue Minister Haji Muhammad Ishaque's statement that the DHA illegally occupied precious land owned by the Punjab government without paying a single penny prompted the speaker to announce that a house committee should probe this land scam. The revenue minister had claimed that the DHA during Musharraf rule illegally occupied government land worth Rs 60 billion in violation of rules and regulations.
The minister's statement caused rumpus in the House and parliamentarians from both sides of the divide demanded the speaker constitute a house committee to unearth this massive land scam.
The revenue minister also supported this demand, saying he would have no objection if a house committee was constituted.
Legislators, including Mian Naseer of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Shaikh Allaudin of the PML-Q (Forward Bloc), Rana Aslam of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Rasheed Basra of the Pakistan Peoples Party and opposition benches also pressed the chair to constitute a house committee.
Nevertheless, the speaker had to withdraw his statement when Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan opposed the suggestion to form a house committee to probe the scam.
The law minister observed that the house committee would have to forward its findings to the Chief Minister's Inspection Team so the team should be allowed to do its job.
The law minister's suggestion infuriated the House and legislators voiced objection, saying they did not trust officials to probe this massive scam.
Mian Naseer observed that officials serving in BPS-18 or 19 could not be expected to probe generals' actions.
He said that officials must also be involved in the scam so legislators should be allowed to do the job.
Ijaz Shafi from the opposition benches also demanded forming a house committee to make public the faces involved in this scam.
The entire opposition demanded the house probe this scam and take strict action against those responsible. The law minister as a last resort claimed that the faces which were involved in this scam were sitting on opposition benches.
The law minister's allegation prompted opposition members to criticise Rana Sanaullah for using "˜un-parliamentary language'.
They demanded the speaker direct the law minister to apologise from the opposition. The speaker, however, ordered expunging the law minister's statement from the record.
The opposition members alleged that the law minister had passed these comments in order to divert attention from the issue.
The speaker, ignoring legislators' demand, announced that the matter was being referred to the CMIT to probe the incident and submit its report in the next assembly session.
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