MIANWALI: A landowner has accused a political party convener of stealing more than 3,000 sacks of wheat.

Malik Fateh Khan of Thameywali told a press conference that he purchased 2,675-kanal agriculture land in the name of his son Malik Haroon from Nawabzada Malik Asad Khan, son of Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan of Kalabagh, vide mutation No 170 on July 5, 2013, and got possession.

Later, he said, he purchased an adjacent land measuring 3,781 kanal from Nawabzada Malik Waheed Khan, son of Malik Muzaffar Khan of Kalabagh, vide mutation Nos 228 and 229 on April 3, 2015, besides another purchase of 470 kanal in the name of his grandsons.

After getting possession, he said, he started cultivation of wheat over 808 acre. He alleged the Nawab family had erected iron gates at various points around their estate being guarded by their gunmen to stop people to enter despite the fact that they had sold out most part of their estate land after distribution of land among legal heirs of the late Nawab of Kalabagh. They also had illegal possession of provincial land, he claimed.

On April 24, 2016, he along with his nephew, went to see the harvesting process but was stopped by gunmen who warned him of dire consequences.

He said he filed applications to police officers including the DPO but none of them paid heed.

He alleged that Nawabzada Malik Waheed Khan, along with his armed personnel, stormed his property and harvested more than 3,000 bags of standing wheat crop which they took away. He urged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take note of the incident.

Nawabzada Waheed Khan could not be contacted but his manager Haji Anwar Akhtar claimed that the agri land was part of Kalabagh Estate owned by the Nawab family and they were the rightful owner of the wheat.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2016