Murad shares details of properties owned by Fazl’s ‘frontmen’

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed Wednesday shared details of the properties worth billions of rupees allegedly owned by Jamiat-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the names of his frontmen in the country. Maulana Fazlur Rehman had also made investment abroad and bought properties in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through his frontmen and he would provide their detail along with testimony of the frontmen, he said while addressing here a press conference.

Flanked by Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur, Murad Saeed alleged that the Maulana had plundered billions of rupees from the national exchequer through his frontmen when he was a public office holder during the past regimes.

Murad alleged that Fazlur Rehman did not spare the sacred religious obligation of Haj and got allotted big Haj quotas to the companies owned by Abdullah and Ibrar Shah in return for commission.

He said Maulana's frontman Rauf Mama bought 88 kanals land in Shorkot and 1,000 kanals land in Wanda Madad area of Dera Ismail Khan in the name of his driver Abdullah from Nawaz Mehsud.

Similarly, he alleged, another frontman Din Muhammad, a class four employee, had a bungalow worth Rs40 million in Defence Colony of DI Khan, while Abdullah Wazir had 400 kanals land in Civil Rock in his name for the Maulana.

He said the Maulana's frontmen Gul Zarif and Din Islam had two plots of one kanal and 32 marlas respectively on Bannu Road, DI Khan, and five shops. They also had 600 kanals land valuing Rs4 million per kanal on Tank Road in their names for Maulana.

The minister further alleged that Qari Ashraf, another frontman of the Maulana, had bought properties in Gilani Town in the names of his gunman Asif and his brother Ashfaq Ahmed, a class four employee. He said the latter also had three oil trollies in his name for Maulana's son Asad Mahmood. The Maulana's frontman Haji Abdul Samad owned a two-kanal bungalow, he added.

The minister said Muhammad Ramazan and his son, who was an Xen, and Ihsan, a Wapda employee, also worked as Maulana's frontmen. He said Ramazan owned a plaza on Bannu Road and a bungalow worth Rs40 million in front of DI Khan Tablighi Markaz for Maulana. He said Fazal Patwari had helped Fazlur Rehman and his frontmen in all the land deals.

Murad Saeed claimed that the Maulana had two plots and a plaza in the name of his frontman Eid Gul Mengal in Muaza Noon at the entry point of Islamabad. The plaza had been sold, he added.

He said Fazlur Rehman and Akram Durrani had joint property at Chak Shahzad (Islamabad) in their frontmen's names, which they had sold for Rs3 billion. They also had joint 200-kanal land elsewhere, he added.

Murad said the JUI-F chief had kept mum about his meetings with foreign lobbyists. He said it was Maulana, who had tried to put the Kashmir issue on the back-burner by staging a sit-in in Islamabad last year.

On one hand, the Maulana always spoke against Israel in public meetings, and on the other, he had sent his party's leader along with a delegation to the Jewish state, he added.

Murad Saeed said once the Maulana had requested the US ambassador to help him become the prime minister. He said the Maulana even remained involved in the supplies to Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation). He said all the details of Maulana's corruption were with the accountability institutions. But Maulana and his frontmen were avoiding joining investigations being carried out by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) despite receiving notices, he added.