ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was informed by the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) on Wednesday that the FIA had been restrained by the Supreme Court from taking action against two influential real estate developers.
A meeting of the committee, presided over by its chairman Mir Aamer Ali Khan Magsi, was told that the apex court had in 2013 stopped the FIA from taking action against PTI leader Aleem Khan and former senator Ammar Ahmed Khan.
“There are specific directives not to act against Aleem Khan of Vision Developers, Lahore, and Ammar Ahmed Khan of Pak-Arab Housing, Lahore, despite the fact that an FIR has been registered against them and the case is with the FIA,” EOBI Chairman Sauleh Farooqui said.
The standing committee, which had taken up the EOBI scam, directed the institution’s chairman to actively pursue the court cases for early realisation of the money misappropriated on account of purchase of properties at exorbitant rates.
The committee was informed that there were two cases against Vision Developers — one relating to non-development of commercial plots in River Edge Housing Scheme on Multan Road in Lahore. The company had to develop and deliver 226 plots of different sizes to the EOBI, but the land remains undeveloped.
The second case against the company relates to non-development of 742 residential plots in another housing scheme in Lahore.
“The company has been paid Rs2.6 billion, but since it has not developed the land and delivered the plots to the EOBI, the case is still in the Supreme Court and its hearing is awaited,” the EOBI chairman said.
The committee was also told that Ammar Ahmed Khan’s company Pak-Arab Housing Scheme had been given Rs1.15bn by the EOBI to develop 579 residential and 75 commercial plots in a housing scheme in Lahore.
Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Pir Saddaruddin Shah Rashdi informed the committee that the attorney general would request the Supreme Court to hear the case as early as possible.
The EOBI chairman said most of the accused were under arrest while the others were granted bail either on statuary or medical grounds.
The committee chairman directed the FIA to accelerate the pace of investigation on FIRs registered against the accused.
The committee was informed that the former EOBI management had purchased 18 properties in different parts of the country at exorbitant rates in connivance with the sellers.
Former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had taken the notice on a media report about alleged corruption amounting to over Rs40bn in the EOBI in June 2013.
Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016