Sindh govt allots 9,000 acres of land for families of slain army men
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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Friday decided to allot 9,000 acres of forest land to Pakistan Army for onward distribution among the heirs of slain and war-wounded military personnel.
He took this decision while presiding over a meeting here at the Chief Minister House.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Forest Gianchand Israni, Chief Secretary Siddiq Memon, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Almuddin Bullo, Senior Member Board of Revenue Shoaib Siddiqui, Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput, Secretary Forest Sajaad Abbasi and other concerned officers.
The chief minister said that an application of Pakistan Army was received by the Sindh government for allotment of 35,521 acres forest land in Garhi Yasin, District Shikarpur in 2001. The file had been moving from one office to another, he said.
"Since the request has been made for the rehabilitation of the slain army personnel’s families and war-wounded military personnel, therefore this request must be honoured. Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had personally asked for the allotment of the land," he said.
The Minister for Forest Gianchand Israni told the chief minister that the land in question was located in the area of Golo Daro of Garhi Yasin. "Its 5,000 acres were under illegal occupation of some influential people which was cleared by the Rangers recently," he said.
The minister further said out of 25,000 acres forest land, 5,000 acres belonged to private owners.
Presently, 9,000 acres of land was available, said Israni, adding that his department had no objection allotting it to slain military men’s families.
Chief Secretary Siddiq Memon said the army's request for land is for families of 500 army personnel, of which 200 belong to Sindh.
“Since the request is genuine, therefore it should be entertained," Memon said.
Senior member Board of Revenue Shoaib Siddiqui said under the policy, forest land can be allotted only for agricultural purposes. The Pakistan Army has already made a request to use it for agriculture purposes, therefore government was authorised to allot the land, he said.
Secretary Forest Sajjad Abbasi said lease holders of forest lands were bound to cultivate forests on 20 per cent of total holdings and use 80pc for agriculture purposes.
The chief minister, in principle, approved the allotment of the land to Pakistan Army and directed the chief secretary to move a summary for the purpose.
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Comments (48) Closed
Jun 20, 2015 12:31am
families need to be helped but destroying forest land is also not a very good idea. They can make high rise apartments for them in karachi instead!!!!
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Jun 20, 2015 12:40am
it's late, but not too late..
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Jun 20, 2015 01:02am
Are they trying to bribe army now. Why would COAS would make personal request for this to corrupt sind govt.
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Jun 20, 2015 01:04am
This is bribery at its best after the rangers and the army decided to investigate the corrupt leaders and the corrupt members of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Pakistani Army should not accept this inducement. Hope this act is considered a crime and new charges against the party and its leadership forthcoming. This land offer to the army is a forest land which belongs to the people of Sind and Pakistan, and no party can just handover the land without any public debate, but we all know the making of the PPP and we all know how Mr. Zardari himself accumulated his wealth – land grabbing – so its not a big surprise. The surprise is that MQM and its leadership is so silent.
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Jun 20, 2015 01:23am
Ok, Deal
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Jun 20, 2015 01:24am
I was trying to find a funny joke after reading Sindh CM's announcement. I couldn't find one, then I read again and realized there can't be a funnier joke than this headline.
Zardari was ready to shatter the Army General, brick by brick (bad translation), and CM wants to destroy forest, tree by tree. Trying to save faces, it wont' work.
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Jun 20, 2015 01:29am
Will this land be acquired by "China Cutting"!
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Jun 20, 2015 01:33am
Some good news but personally I feel that this is a way for the Sindh government to avoid antagonizing the army especially after Zardaris recent rant.
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Jun 20, 2015 01:37am
Deforestation? Care to explain how this is a good idea?
Why on Earth would the Sindh govt. allot forest land and not land in or around cities?
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Jun 20, 2015 01:43am
This is what Army wants. First some raids, and then get land. What's the difference between politicians and generals.
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Jun 20, 2015 01:45am
I guess you are trying to please the army after silly comments from Zardari!.
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Jun 20, 2015 02:00am
I am surprised that CM would allocate forest land to families of army families. Why they have to come to interior Sindh. What is special there to settle them to interior sindh when migration to Karachi is taking at alarming rate from such area. I smell corruption in this decision.
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Jun 20, 2015 02:05am
this land better not be in Karachi
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Jun 20, 2015 02:05am
Finally Surrendered,
By the way total DHA Karachi Phase 1 to phase 8 is 17500 Acres so Qaim Sb is giving 9500 acres roughly 30,000 plots of average 1000 SQ yards plots plus roads and parks etc. WOW
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Jun 20, 2015 02:09am
Why not give them money and leave the forest alone? they are expected to go live out there?
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Jun 20, 2015 02:10am
So funny, now they are trying to lure Army into their trap by offering land like they have to other people for money .... I call it barter this time against saving themselves from Jail .... Army should take the offer and still put these guys in jail who had sold the land for personal gains
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Jun 20, 2015 02:11am
@TKHAN Would be better if you have uttered a single word about those making such demands
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Jun 20, 2015 02:20am
Bribe to clean Zardari's mess ? But I m pretty sure it's not a corruption as long as army gets benefit from it.
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Jun 20, 2015 02:33am
Sindhi govt should not donate land in this way , bcoz army already received too much land from sindh
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Jun 20, 2015 02:35am
Is Sind government also going to allot lands to the family members who were killed by the terrorists who were/are created and supported by the army?
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Jun 20, 2015 02:41am
How many of them are rangers personnel getting the land?
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Jun 20, 2015 02:48am
all shud belong to sindh if the fragile demographic balance is to be retained.sindh alrewdy hosts innumerable outsiders
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Jun 20, 2015 02:49am
In 50/60 years whole of Pakistan will turn into lands owned by retired generals or will have DHA or Askari.
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Jun 20, 2015 02:50am
Land given out that was usurped by Qabza Mafia???
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Jun 20, 2015 02:54am
The entire area of dha karachi is 8796 acres home to thousands of families, most of them affluent. The area allotted to 500 slain families is a staggering 9000 acres. The families will receive only a fragment of the land and rest is the settlement price(extortion) for Zardari's outburst against the establishment.
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Jun 20, 2015 02:55am
What about families of slain policemen? Is their blood inferior?
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Jun 20, 2015 02:56am
So now we know the reason for the Rangers raids in Karachi. The land files were not being cleared by sindh govt.
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Jun 20, 2015 03:03am
"Is jurm ko bhee shaamil kar lo mere` masoom gunahoun mein"
I ask some ghairat mund Pakistani kindly to go to court and NAB for this brutal corruption of PPP and especially of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari's. I also request Nawaz Shareef to wear a black coat again the way he did in Memo-Gate drama and attend the "court" on the same grounds as this heinous crime of PPP will violate his human and citizen rights.
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Jun 20, 2015 03:28am
What about the families of brave civilians who lost their lives owning to policies of Military dictators? Did not we lost so much because these murderous terrorists were once the darlings of military establishment? Why not allocate a few thousand acres of Punjab precious land?
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Jun 20, 2015 03:36am
biggest land mafia
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Jun 20, 2015 03:51am
The policy of allocating land to war dead and slain soldiers dates back to Raj times; this should end now.
Timings of this announcement - smells coffee!!
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Jun 20, 2015 03:56am
Things don't add up. Request made in 2001 and yet the Army couldn't get it approved during their own tenure of 7 years?
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Jun 20, 2015 03:56am
Since the request was made in 2001, why has there been an urgency to approve within couple of days of derogatory remarks on the armed forces. I smell a rat.
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Jun 20, 2015 03:58am
The timing is to inflict humiliation.. Putting the benefeciaries in line with the rest... A smart way to prove the are no different.. They are not angels after all...
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Jun 20, 2015 04:03am
Why destroying forest owing by people of Sindh, Army do not need this land, just stop corruption, and follow merit and honesty you do not need bribe to Army, your own Sindh is not clean, Army have enough to survive, DHA, ASKARI, and Generals (retired) already have enough land in Sindh, if you give this 9000 acres to your voters you will win next election. if your generacsity like this than whole Pakistan will own in 30 yrs by retired generals be careful they will not let you further corrupt country. Stop corruption mercy for Sindh.
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Jun 20, 2015 04:09am
DHA Phase 10
legit land grab
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Jun 20, 2015 04:11am
quid pro quo ! I wonder whether how long the political expediencies are going to last in both civilian and military domains.
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Jun 20, 2015 04:24am
Instead of allocating land they should develop high rise buildings like in posh areas for them.
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Jun 20, 2015 04:27am
Why Sindh land, Punjab land is more agriculture let Punjab shares for army Sindh suffered on the hand of Military Dictators, killed civilians fight for democracy and one prime minister ZA Bhutto hanged by these people, let give Sindh land to Sindh people, particularly Larkana and Bhutto families. Why not allocate a few thousand acres of Punjab precious land?
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Jun 20, 2015 05:07am
To avoid further demographic imbalance and resulting tensions, families of slain and injured -- and retired --military personnel should be give land or whatever only in their own provinces of domicile and in localities of their (the slain, injured, retired military-men's) original/ancestral residence.
By the way as a comment above (by SAMEED) taking 9000 acres for 500 families of slain and injured military-men is mind-boggling.
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Jun 20, 2015 05:08am
@ M. A. VALLIANI - can you please call out the names of those politicians for more clarity?
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Jun 20, 2015 05:10am
Why only the army? What about the police? There are lots of folks that die doing their duty, why does the army only reap benefits?
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Jun 20, 2015 05:39am
First China cutting then forest cutting.
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Jun 20, 2015 05:43am
@Concerned;
This is a fake concern. To my knowledge there are no generals among hundreds of Zarb-e-Azb shaheeds.
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Jun 20, 2015 06:00am
@Concerned , army is not asking for this land for filling some corrupt pockets. It is for hundreds of families of Sindhi shaheed soldiers who died while fighting for their mother land. Do not forget that Sindh government has helped Malik Riaz acquire 500.000 acres of urban land for his Behria project. Do you know on what price did he get that half million acres land? You will either laugh or weep to know that?
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Jun 20, 2015 06:12am
These politicians are like an infestation. They look disgusting and they keep growing.
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Jun 20, 2015 06:18am
Damage control. Better to use martyred than slain. Families of martyred police men also deserve this reward
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Jun 20, 2015 06:26am
So much desperation its funny...
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