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Nathiagali under siege
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Masood Hasan
As another year begins to die on this blighted country, why is it that all we can see around us further sickens the soul, adds to the depression and leaves us down in the doldrums? From one end of the spectrum to the other, all you hear are stories that drive a knife through the most optimistic among us. How can any one keep the faith and spot the missing rainbow when darkness pervades? The country is awash in doom and gloom. All the government seems to do is debate pointlessly all day and all night long finding no solution to its growing problems and instead retreating further into its cocoon. The government spokesperson, who expressed astonishment that the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB) asked for the dismantling of the Muridke Seminary when there was no such thing, deserves the nation's highest award. Even a goat knows what goes on in Muridke. And if there must be a country that specialises in scams, surely that honour belongs to Pakistan.
Grabbing what belongs to others is a national pastime far more popular than cricket, particularly if what you are grabbing belongs legally to someone else. Pakistan's only surviving hill station, though already under the chopping block, is Nathiagali once the retreat of a few and now inundated with diesel-belching hordes. While it may be decaying and dying, it is still a coveted trophy particularly if you own nothing there. Now in an audacious move that has the full backing of the NWFP government -- another entity that is raking it in hand over fist, the Galliyat Development Authority (GDA), is re-engaging on its written commitment and cancelling the leases of about a 100 properties owned by civilians. It is as blatant as it can get and in any other half-decent country, it would lead to large-scale sacking of corrupted government servants but here it is absolutely the other way round. The frightened, confused and harassed residents are bewildered by this open scam inspired by those who wish to break the law and take what is not theirs.
Since the early 50s, private individuals have been buying plots in Nathiagali and building cottages to escape during our scorching summer months. Most of these plots were purchased in the 70s and later at whatever price the GDA determined. Subsequently, owners have continued to pay their taxes to the GDA. Originally, the land was given out on a 33-year lease but under a directive served on all who owned property here, these leases were extended on July 20, 1985 to 99 years and additional charges that were levied were duly paid by the owners. All this was conducted on legal paper and is on record. Among those who own properties here are Khurshid Qasuri, Adil Shah, Farooq Rehmatullah, Bashir Buksh, Azhar Hayat Noon, Mian Liaqat Hayat Khan, Bapsi Sidhwa, Shama Haq, Mukhtar Orakzai, Zaheer Sajjad, Manzoor Qadir, the late artist Gulgee and Waseem Sajjad. There is a spattering of ex-servicemen as there always is and some others who must be business people. Now the GDA has informed all residents that their leases have expired before the 99 years are up, and they have to vacate their properties as these are constructed on land that does not legally belong to them. Obviously at GDA, getting your facts straight is not a priority. This body whose performance throughout the year leaves much to be desired seems to have become a party in this land-grab that has its origins in the current dispensation that now rules NWFP. The Nathiagali Residents Association (NRA) which is currently headed by Lt-Gen (R) Saeed Qadir has been approached to take up the matter immediately with the GDA and NWFP government.
What has prompted this bizarre move? As with most things that defy explanation, the answer is simple. Because someone else wants it and bending or twisting a rule or two hardly matters in a country where no one can identify the Constitution now. Those who are engineering this move are reportedly the highest office-holders in Peshawar and while stories about Mr Hoti are the stuff that legends are made of, this latest grab shows how these gentlemen spend their time eyeing opportunities where they can move in for a swift kill and are gone before you can say, 'what was that?' In a session presided over by Bashir Bilour, the Minister for Local Bodies, the GDA was directed to issue notices cancelling the 99-year leases and ordering surrender of over a 100 properties to the GDA. These include the small cottage that belonged to the late Gulgee and his wife, which has been padlocked and sealed by the GDA, following that unsolved crime in Karachi where the Gulgees were murdered. What should have been taken up by the Ministry of Culture and held till a proper decision could be made -- most people feel it must be preserved under a trust and exhibited as the home of one of our celebrated artists like it's done elsewhere. Instead, the GDA is eyeing it and may already be selling off the considerable art the cottage contains.
According to some reports, there are a few exceptions in the resident's list whose leases remain sacrosanct. These are highly placed ex-officials of the ranks of IGs, chief secretaries and other civil servants. They apparently have been exempted. So what are the Nathiagali residents going to do? For starters they have some influential people on their side. Perhaps Waseem Sajjad can lend his considerable talents in resolving this dilemma and fend off the snarling dogs. If the NRA is unable to achieve anything, the residents can always go to the courts, which they should in any case. The NWFP land mafia is a powerful force and there are many hair-raising stories that flow out of Peshawar about how the province is being skinned to its bone. Nathiagali, for this lot, would simply be a dessert to be enjoyed after dinner. It is reported that during the commando's golden reign, the Lahore GOC who was spending all his time poring over maps -- no, not the ones featuring India but DHA in which he was a specialist -- received a call from the commando, who said, "yaar haath hola rakh," ('go easy buddy'). The buddy is gone as is the commando and the various crooks that made billions of dollars vaporise are all gone, and we are holding our aching heads in our hands. Let us hope for once that we can win.
The writer is a Lahore-based columnist. Email: masoodhasan66@gmail.com
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