Pakistan: Punjab govt ratifies army land allotment to civilian officials
Islamabad/IBNS: The Punjab government has ratified the allotment of up to 25 acres of state land to 47 civilian government officials but they were actually meant for the families of the martyred soldiers and war veterans under the Army Welfare Scheme (AWS), media reports said.
The allotments had been made without legal sanction on the orders of former dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf in contravention of the merit and law, two persons in CM Secretariat confirmed on condition of anonymity, told Dawn News.
According to the sources in the Punjab CM Secretariat, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had cancelled the allotment, which had been ordered by the former military dictator during January 2004 and May 2008 in alleged violation of the Colonisation of Government Land (Punjab) Act 1912 and the allotment policy framed in 1962 under it for the AWS, reports the newspaper.
After the cancellation order, the PML-N government also rejected multiple summaries put up to former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif for ratification, reported the newspaper.
The sources in CM Secretariat told Dawn News around 837 acres of the AWS land had been allotted to civilian officials without consulting the provincial government.
These allotted lands are located in districts like Bahawalpur, Pakpattan, Khanewal, Sahiwal, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan and Sadiqabad.
Image of Pakistan Punjab region not directly related to the story
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