MPA denies charge of fraud
ISLAMABAD: A district court in Sialkot ordered the police to register a fraud and corruption case against a sitting Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Member Parliament for allegedly selling army’s land to a citizen for Rs37.6 million, documents available with The News reveal.
Chaudhary Muhamad Ikraam, Member of Punjab Assembly from Sialkot, denies the charge saying that his political opponents were against this move as no one can sell land belonging to army.
Details reveal that one Attique-ur-Rehman bought land measuring 2.5 kanal in 2013 from PML-N MPA for construction of a hospital but when he started construction, the Cantonment Board Sialkot stopped the construction saying that construction was banned in the area.
The complainant then asked the army authorities to verify whether the land in his possession belonged to the army or the MPA and after a detailed survey the army informed Attique-ur-Rehman in black and white in October last year that the land belonged to Pakistan Army (documents available with The News). Upon this, the complainant requested elders of the area to get the dispute settled but in vain. After leaving with no option but to knock the doors of the court, Attique-ur-Rehman filed a case against the PML-N MPA in the court where the court on 22nd April 2016 ordered the police to register a case against the MPA.
PML-N MPA from Sialkot Chaudhary Muhammad Ikraam when contacted said that he had sold the land through his company to Attique-ur-Rehman and the land falls in the area of revenue department and not army.
He said the complainant had appointed a commission to de-mark the land beforepurchasing and now is playing in the hands of his opponents. The MPA said that no one can sell army’s land and that he had sold land belonging to his company. He said that his political opponents are trying to malign him. He admitted that Attique-ur-Rehman has lodged a case in the local court for getting an FIR registered against him.
“First I was accused of facing a case in National Accountability Bureau whereas I do not have any idea of a pending NAB case because I have not held any public office and now I am being vilified by my opponents in land sale issue”, the MPA said.
It is worth mentioning here that according to NAB documents probe is underway on a complaint (Diary No.873/2015 dated 15.6.2015) lodged by Aamir Riaz Bhinder, CEO Bhinder Surgical Company (Pvt) Ltd Sialkot, against Ch. Muhammad Ikram, former Chairman Surgical Instruments Manufacturer Association of Pakistan (SIMAP) and sitting MPA of PML-N for alleged illegal purchase/repair/maintenance of machinery and award of tenders to their favourite companies which supplied under specification and substandard machines through fake documents of import. “The complainant supported the complaint.
He has also provided internal audit report of Metal Industries Development, Centre, Sialkot which shows involvement of an amount of approximate Rs300 million, as a result of 18 audit observations”, the documents reveal. The MPA says that he has no idea of any such complaint against him in NAB.
