Ex-SBCA DG, other accused acquitted in Nasla Tower case

An anti-corruption court on Thursday acquitted all accused persons, including former Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) director general Manzoor Qadir alias Kaka, in a case pertaining to alleged illegal allotment of extra land of a service road for the construction of Nasla Tower.

The 15-storey commercial-cum-residential building on Sharea Faisal was completely demolished in early 2022 on a Supreme Court order for having been built on the encroached land in violation of laws.

On Thursday, the provincial anti-corruption court announced its order after recording evidence and final arguments from defence and prosecution sides.

“Today, the court acquitted all the 19 accused after the prosecution failed to establish its case,” Barrister Iftikhar Ahmed Shah, the counsel for ex-SBCA DG Kaka, told The News.

He said the case was lodged on the directives of the apex court about three and a half years back. He said no illegal allotment had been established from the case of the prosecution or documents produced by it.

Former SBCA director general Manzoor Qadir Kaka, ex-SBCA director Ashkar Dawar, SBCA director structure Ali Mehdi Kazmi, SBCA Jamshed Town director Safdar Magsi, SBCA deputy director design Farhan Qaiser, SBCA town planning director Khawaja Badi uz Zaman, SBCA town planning deputy director Ali Ghufran, SBCA town planning assistant director Syed Muhammad Zia, SBCA Jamshed Town deputy director Sarfraz Hussain, SBCA assistant director Abdul Sami Soomro, then Master Plan Group of Offices’ (MPGO) EDO Hafiz Muhammad Javed, then MPGO ADO Wilayat Ali Data, and MPGO DDO Bashir Ahmed Khan, then Jamshed Town mukhtiarkar Khair Muhammad Dahiri, and Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society (SMCHS) secretary Naveed Bashir, members Muhammad Asif, Dr Ghous Muhammad Khan, and Mustafa Rangwala, and owner Muzamil Amin Darzi were booked in the case lodged in 2022.

According to the prosecution, an inquiry initiated on the directives of the Supreme Court revealed that the management of the SMCHS in connivance with the owner of the plot, Muzammil Amin Darzi, issued letters for the allotment of extra land of 264 square yards in 2006-07 that was meant for amenity/service road and forwarded the matter to the MPGO for conversion of land use from residential to commercial for 1,044 square yards without proper title documents of the alleged plot whose sub-lease was only for 780 square yards.

On the basis of such an increase, then Jamshed Town Mukhtiarkar Dahri allegedly made an illegal entry. Subsequently, during 2010, an extra land of 77 square yards was allowed and the matter was referred to the MPGO for conversion from residential to commercial for 1,121 square yards.

Officers of the MPGO in connivance with each other and the builder issued the conversion order of the plot firstly for 1,044 square yards in 2007 and secondly for 1,121 square yards while in the approved layout plan, it was only 780 square yards.

The officers of the SBCA in connivance with each other and the builder during 2013-14 processed and approved the TP NOC and building plan of the Nasla Tower for the construction of the building on 1,121 square yards.

A case was registered under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant or by banker, merchant or agent), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged documents), and 334 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act on behalf of state.