499 high and mighty in for trouble
By Rauf Klasra - The News dated October 10, 2007

ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musahrraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz might be deprived of their two multi-million rupee farmhouses, which they bought in the suburbs of Islamabad in 2003, after the Chief Justice of Pakistan directed the CDA bosses on Monday to cancel allotment of all those farms which were being used for residential purposes. The farms were initially alloted at highly subsidised rates for growing vegetables and poultry farming.

The CJ's sweeping directive to the CDA might affect the ownership of 499 top guns, who were allotted a total of 2,500 acres of land worth billions of rupees in the suburbs of Islamabad at throwaway prices in the name of meeting the rising demand for vegetables, orchards and poultry in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. It has now been brought to the notice of the court that instead of cultivating vegetables and orchards and keeping poultry, huge luxury palaces have been constructed on the plots by powerful people.

A top CDA official has claimed that the farmhouses of both the president and the prime minister also fall in the category of those farms which were not being used for the purpose for which they were originally allotted by the CDA. The CDA has quietly informed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry that President General Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz have purchased two plots measuring 5 acres and 2.5 acres respectively worth millions of rupees, which were actually meant for boosting production of poultry and vegetables in the suburbs of Islamabad. The CJ has been informed that a total of 25,000 acres of precious land worth billions of rupees in the suburbs of Islamabad was given to 499 tops guns of the country including powerful generals, bureaucrats, businessmen and officials of the secret agencies at highly subsidised rates in the '70s, '80s and '90s under the CDA's policy to meet the rising demands of certain commodities in the twin cities. However, a majority of those who were allotted these plots, mostly army officers and bureaucrats, later sold them at much higher prices after the CDA brought about changes in its by-laws to accommodate some powerful people to sell these farms. Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz too have purchased farmlands from the actual owners.

The so-far secret list submitted in the court of CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry by the CDA through official letter No EMA.IN/2007 <http://EMA.IN/2007>  in the suo moto case No 10 of 2007 on the issue of increased prices of daily commodities, reveals that a total of 499 top guns of Pakistan were allotted these farms. But instead of producing poultry and vegetables on these big farms, they simply constructed huge palatial mansions and recreational facilities.

The names of Musharraf, son of Musharrafuddin, owner of plot No C-1/B Park Road Chak Shahzad and Shaukat Aziz, son of Sh Abdul Aziz, owner of plot No C-16, A-1, Chak Shahzad, have been submitted to the court in response to the Supreme Court orders dated July 23 and August 9. Now in the court of CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who is heading a bench to hear a case against the causes of price hike, both Musharraf and Aziz might face charges of violating the terms and conditions of CDA policy for which these plots were actually allotted.

The list containing the names of Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz in addition to 497 other high-ups was submitted before the SC by Raja Abdul Ghafoor, advocate, on record on behalf of the CDA on September 3. This correspondent has managed to get the original copy of allotment order of these farms which reveals the names of all those who exploited their power to get them at throwaway prices, but later either sold them in the open market or did not use the land for for the purpose they had got it in the first place.

Apart from the president and prime minister, Justice Dr Javed Iqbal, the son of national poet Allama Iqbal is also included in the list submitted before the Supreme Court. Justice Javed Iqbal has got one plot of 2.72 acres in 1999 in the name of launching a poultry and vegetable business from one Nazir Mohammad Sheikh. The ISI had also got certain agro farms allotted in its name.

One Mian Riazuddin was given 26.5 acres of land while another, Ghulam Abbas, was given 18 acres. The list also shows the names of former chairman Senate Wasim Sajjad, and many top military generals and other high-ranking officials and bureaucrats.

Others persons who got these plots include DG ISI Maj Gen Asad Nawaz Khan, Dr Anwar Aziz, Brig Sajawal Khan, Justice Javed Iqbal, Afzal Wali, Riffat Jamil Nishtar, Mohammad Shujaat Azeem (the brother of information minister Tariq Azim), Azra Wasim Sajjad, Dr Abdul Riaz, Major General S. Ali Hamid, Ms Zeba Fasih Bokhari, Sadia Hafeez Pirzada and others. This correspondent tried to get the version of the Prime Minister House but the press secretary to the PM, Shabir Anwar, did not receive the telephone calls. Likewise, Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani did not receive the calls.

According to the list, General Pervez Musharraf purchased a five-acre plot from the daughter-in-law of Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar in 2003. Ms Riffat Jamil, wife of Jameel Nishtar had bought this farm to launch her own poultry and vegetable business from a certain Hasan Qureshi who was actually allotted this plot by the CDA in 1979. General Musharraf got this plot on November 4, 2003 from Ms Riffat Nishtar. The price of the plot is not mentioned. Likewise, Shaukat Aziz bought a plot measuring 2.6 acres to launch his own poultry and vegetable business on March 14, 2003 from Murtaza Siddiqi, son of Haji M. Yousaf. This gentleman was given the plot at a throwaway price in 1985.

Following is the list of persons who were allotted these farms but sold them later:

Mehfooz Ellahi, Haji Zerwar Khan, Syed Abdul Rehman, Rana Allah Dad Khan, Maj Mohamamd Akram Khan, Ms Nasreen Akthar, Fazal Subhan Khan, DG ISI, Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Agha Aleem Ahmad, Ms Samani Rizwan, Ms Rukaya Hussain, Akthar Moeed, Mr Mohammad Ilyas, Haji Fazalur Rehman Wazir, Hasan Akthar, Ms Rodaba Shuja, Malik Mohammad Akram, Mirza Iktidar Hussain, Mr Ijaz Shafi, Riazuddin, Mr Rashid, Kh Kamran, Ms Bushara Akram, Mehboob Ellahi, Sh Azizur Rehman, Hassan Hamid, Mr Hassan Hameed, Mohammad Sarwar Khan, Ms Rani Ghulam, Mohammad Sharif, Mr Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Aslam Jan, Sohail Shakil, Irshad Ahmed, Anwar Saeed, Mahboobdul Haq, Ahmad Ghazal Usmani, Dr Ambreen Ahmed, Ahmed Bilal Bajwa, Javed Latif Kahloon, Suleman Corporation, Mr Sardar Zulifkar, Ms Salma Kafeel Qureshi, Sardar Zafrullah Khan, Hamayun Qureshi, Kalimur Rehman, Comd (retd.) Mehdi, S. Nasimuddin, Ch. Hashmat, Nabeeb, Miss Farhah Hussein, Ms Osma and Mustafa, Dr Anwar Aziz, Mehar Zulifkar Ali Babu, Haji Mohammad Gulbahar and others, Ms Gulzar, Ch. Abdur Rehman, Mehmood Ahmed, Col Aleemuddin, Abdul Rehman, Ms Nayyab, Brig Sajawal Khan Malik, Arshad Butt, M Ilyas, Kamal Raza, Prof Afaq Ali Khan, Mrs Shama Usman, Mian Nabeen Sami, Ms Maliha Hussain, Sher Ali Jafar, Tariq Hussain, Mohammad Hanif, Ambreen Haroon, Nisar Ahmed, Mohammad Imran Khan, Azra Sarfraz Sajad, Afaf Zohra Qadeer, Rehmanullah, Ali Haider Bilgrami, Ms Feroz Tehseen Naqvi, Major Mohammad Ali Qureshi, Usman Ahmed Janjua, Mohammad Rafiq Minhas, Mohammad Nisar, Nighat Rehman, Zohra Nasim, Shaban Askari, Rubina Qazilbash, Naz Aziz Ahmed, Maryam Ali, Muhammad Amjad, Gulrazi Shahid, Shamim Ara, Bilal Hussain, Mohammad Ahmed, Shahzad Ahmed, Mohammad Zareen Malik, Iqbal Hussain, Shireen Ansari, Ms Rifat Mani, Bashir Husain, Iram Rahim, Shamim Mehmood, Pervez Mahmood Sheikh, Afzal Wali, Haleema Haroon, Abdul Hafeez, Masood Khan, Shafiunisa, Nazar Hussain Shah, Faisal Abbas, Ms Fatima Hameed, Zamah Khawar Ansari, Zaeenul Haq, Ghazala Nargis, Ishra Iftikar, Waseem Akthar, Tajammul Hussain, Miss Sameen Siddiqu, Miss Nadia Raza Shah, Syed Mushtaq Abbas, Ch. Abdul Hameed, Begum Zohra Jalali, Mohammad Awais, Nisar Ahmed, Moin Samad Khan, Zulakaha Khanum, Shamim Khan, Ms Rohi Toyaka Ch, Ms Yamina Mittah, Abbas Hassan, Rahim Qureshi, Mudassaar Ijaz, Mohammad Irfan Ali, Ms Iffat Riaz, Ms Shaughta Ikram, Rashid Mehmood Randahwa, Shamoon Zakriya, Shamoom Zakriya, Ali Mohammad, Fazal Din, Allah Yar, Sajjad Hussain, Mohammad Banaras Sh, Amjad Ali, Ms Allah Rakhi, Mohamamd Banara, Sh Mohammad Zuliqar, Sakhwat Hussain, Mohammad Shafiq, Irfan Hameed Khali, Haroon Khan, Ali Ejaz Hussain, Javed Iftikar, Ghulam Dewan Mustafa Khalid, Summar Atta Saeed, Usman Atta Saeed, Ch. Mohammad Saeed Bhatti, Imran, Malik Sohrab, Mohammad Javed Bhatti, Mohammad Shujat Azim, Pakistan Services Limited Islamabad, Dilshad Najamuddin, Saleem Murad, Danish Qaiser, Ijaz Hussain Awan, Asad Hayat Khan, Faisal Muneer, Khalid Bilal Usmani, Nisar Nawaz Jaffar, Mohamamd Neroze Khan, Mohammad Imran Khan, Mohammad Moinuddin Khan, Chan Mahboob, Ms Tayyab Khalil, Mohammad Amin, Mehrban Khan, Mohammad Yasin, Ch. Fazal Dad, Sher Alam Masud, Ms Sakina, Jalal Din, Iftikhar Hussain, Mohammad Younis, Mohammad Ilyas, Ali Akbar, Lal Khan, Naheed Khan, Ghulam Rasool, Rukayya Khanum Soomro, Ms Ghulam Zareen, Iabql Hussain, Ms Nusrat Sultana, Abdul Hameed, Lt Col Mubarak Ahmad Malik, Ch. Mohammad Ilyas, Nazakat Ali, Khuda Bukhsh, Ch. Tariq Fazal, Ch. Ghulam Mohammad, Jahanzeb Khan Orakzai, Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Hussain Shah, Ms Tasneem Syed Khan, Mrs Azra Sajjad, Saeed, Ghulam Abbas, Brig Fazal, Qamar Zamand, Fazal Dad, Mr Ramla Mahmood, Mehboob and Ismail, Farhan Sadiq, Begum Almas Hamid, Amjad Imran, Tanveer Aftab, Mohammad Jamil, Ch. Mohammad Ramzan Tahir, Syed Tasleem Wasti, Mrs Zeba Fasih Bukhari, Mr Naseer Ahmed, Naseer Ahmed, Sh. Abdul Majeed, Sultan Ahmed, Mian Farooq Jamal Shah, Zareen Gul, Jamshed Hanif, Shahida Nasir, Said Hafeez Pirzada, Aziz Ahmed, Mumtazur Rehman, Abdul Sattar, Raja Riaz Ahmed, Mohammad Saeed, Faisal Mumtaz, Ms Mahrukh Kamran, Azam Jan, Mohamamd Akhlaq Memon, Amir Shafi Moguhl, Aslam Khaliq, Zafar Ali Kiani, Walayat Khan, Malik Mehboob Hussain, Muhammad Ala Raza Malik, Malik Tabaruk Hussain, Mohammad Ilyas, Malik Taj Khan, Ms Khurshaid Begum, Nazakat Hussain, Haji Mohammad Zaman, Haji Mohammad Zaman, Mirza Khan and Abdul Khalid, Mohammad Fayyaz, Zahoorudin, Tariq Mahmood, Nuzhat Iqbal, Anees Hider, Mohammad Riaz, Rahanaz Hussain, Firdus Ahmed, Asif Mahmood, Tufail Anwar Abbasi, Ajmal Fakar, Ms Ghazala Nagras, Abdul Bari, Raja Javed Ashraf, Syed Akbar Alam, Syed Mohammad Hashmi, Ikramul Haq, Nadeed Bashir, MA Lodhi, Liaqat Ali, Hassan Raza, Ms Bushra Khushnood, Ms Tricon Developers, Syed Najmul Hasan Kazmi, Sharjeel Adnan, Ms Zahida Saeed, Tanveer Ilyas, Tricon Developers, Mohammad Ashraf, Shahazad Waseem, Khanzada, Tricon Developers, Mehtab Khan, Abdul Razaq, Iqbal Ghani, Foudndar and others, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, Haji Javed Islam, Mohammad Yousaf, Malik Laiqur Rehman, Gulzar Ahmed, Sh Abdul Razak, Mohammad Ashraf, Irum Zaman, Malik Tabarak Hussain, Ms Yasmin Fatima, Ms Mohammadi Begum, Dr Shoaib Shafi, Dr Rizwan Ch. Raja Mohammad Hanif Abbasi, Rajaz Shamshad Hussain, Raja Sajjad Hussain, Raja Sajjad Hussain, Mohammad Naeem Paracha, Jhangir Hussain, Syed Ali Zafar, Aftab Ahmed, Col Bashir Ali, Malik Mehrab, Aziz Begum, Fazal din, Balqees Begum, Syed Fayyaz, Faisal Aba Ali, Abdul Aziz, Nisar Ahmed, Iftikhar Rashid, Naeedm Bashir, Khasif Noorani, Ms Raeesa Rehman, Ghulsher Khan, Saeeda Mahmood, Ms Durre Najaf, Mahreen Gul, Ms Ch. Changez Akthar, Ms Nawaz Khan, Malik Saleem Raza, Nusrat Maqbll, Mohammad Ibraim, Amair Naeem Butt, Ms Hahajehab, Ch. Allah Din Bhatti, Rashid Aktar Chaughtai, Mohammad Sadiq Bhatti, Haji Abdul Razak, Ms Mehrraj Ent, Ms Mohammad Youqub Sughra, Khalilur Rehman, Mohammad Younis, Saifur Rehman, Mian Mohammad Afzal, Haji Gul Ahmed, Mian Abdul Rasheed, Naeem Ghani, Khalid Aziz, Mohammad Irshad, Shafaul Haq, Rashid Khan, Rajaz Mohammad Arshad, Muhammad Ishfaq, Faqir Syed Munir, Brig Abdul Ahed, Dr Fazal Karim, Sabir Khan, Ms Shamim Afridi, Legal heirs of Bajwa, Ms Majabeen Javed, Mureed Hussain, Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Ahmed Ghazal Usmani, Syed Athar Ali Shad, Ijza Shafi Gilani, Iqbal Jan, Raja Jamshed Afandi, Maj General M Ashraf Khan, Mohammad Gulzar, Ms Usman Nawaz Khokar, Mohammad Zaheer, Civil Aviation Authority, Ms Zaibun Nisa, Mian Mohammad Yaqoob, Major Majeed Khan, Syed Agha Faiz Mehdi, Raja Adlat Khan, Mohammad Khan, Tariq Saleem, Attiqur Rehman, Zafar Rahim, Naeedudin Mian, Sh Mohammad Latif, SA Qadir Gilani, Dr Mohamamd Sadiq, Muzaffar Khanum, Khawaja Farrukh Majeed, Zahid Hussain, Aziz Sultan, Mohammad Ilyas Khan, Zahoor Ahmed Khan, Asim Nazeer, Zahoor Ahmed Khan, Qasim Hayat, Malik Ghulam Abbas, Adnan Bashir, Ms Rahat Khabum, Irfanul Haq, Khurshed Hayat, Aamara Hayat, Ch. Mohamamd Iqbal, Abdul Rauf Khan, Col Farooq Rashid, Brig Mohammad Hussain, Brig Sadiq Qureshi, Major General Farhat Ali Burki, Maj General Attaur Rehman, Bilala Hussain, Raza Rehman, Anwar Aziz, Hamid Khursheed, Ms Surrya Akthar, Government of Punjab.

Talking to The News, Chairman CDA Kamran Lashari confirmed that the chief justice had issued a directive to the Authority to launch a survey of the farmhouses and determine whether or not they were being used for the purpose for which they were actually allotted.He said in light of the CJ's directive, a survey was being launched and its report would be submitted to the court. When asked about the names of General Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz in the list of those who owned those farmhouses, which were not being used for the purpose they were allotted for, Lashari said no doubt the list contains names of many important people. But he said he had not read all those names but would follow the directions of the court and soon the report would be submitted to the chief justice.