November 20, 2006	Monday	Shawwal 27, 1427

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TOBA TEK SINGH, Nov 19: Allegations of land allotment levelled against provincial forest minister Dr Ashfaqur Rehman by opposition parties’ leaders are totally baseless, say some district council members and union council nazims.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday in Jinnah Hall, in the presence of the minister, district nazim group’s parliamentary leader in the house, Chaudhry Shafqat Rasool, nazims Chaudhry Niaz Ahmad, Sardar Mulazim Gadhi, Asad Gadhi and Waheed Sarwar claimed that defeated political leaders were afraid of the popularity of Dr Ashfaq and levelling allegations.

Some Alliance for Restoration of Democracy leaders had, in a press conference two days ago, accused the minister of getting plots by showing himself as `shelterless’.

Answering newsmen’s questions on Sunday, Dr Ashfaq said that the plots allotted to him in villages 325-JB and 327-GB (near Shorkot Cantt) had been in his possession since long.

He said being a top farmer of his village (Chak 325 JB), he was entitled to the allotment of an ‘Ehata’.

He said the 327-GB plot in question was actually given to him by a farmer who could not return the money he had borrowed from his father.

On the occasion, UC nazim Chaudhry Niaz claimed that land mafia had got allotted 115 kanals of land on Jhang road opposite Manzoor Elahi forest park illegally at a throwaway price which was now being sold at more than Rs 100,000 per marla.

He claimed that the sitting DDO(R) and his predecessor had unlawfully allotted four kanals of state land to Murtaza Shah on Jhang road.