ISLAMABAD, Jan 22: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Balochistan government to submit a detailed report about large-scale illegal allotments of land in Gwadar to ministers, politicians and bureaucrats.

A nine-member bench of the court was hearing a petition of Bibi Zahra against the Board of Revenue and the Balochistan government against the allotment of land.

The bench questioned the authenticity of the transaction of 241,600 acres of land and directed the Board of Revenue to submit a report before the court after examining illegal allotments.

“You should stop this spendthrift and flawed style of allotment of state land to ministers and other rulers,” the chief justice observed, adding that the state property should not be turned into private property.

Justice Javed Iqbal, a member of the larger bench, also criticised the Board of Revenue for being a silent spectator.

Balochistan Advocate-General Salahudin Maingal told the bench that after the allotment of 241,600 acres of land, the Balochistan government had been left with only 25,000 acres in Gwadar. Justice Iqbal observed that the remaining land comprised only ditches.The advocate-general was directed to cancel the illegal allotments and return the entire land to the provincial government.

He said that in 1976-77, settlement of land in Gwadar was not accepted by the Balochistan government, adding that only settlements made during 1983 and 1996 were recognised as valid by the provincial government. But the problem was that this land had been sold out to many hands, he said.

This trend should come to an end now to avert any new financial scandal, the bench observed and adjourned the hearing of the case for two months after seeking a report from the advocate-general.