KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in a press conference on Thursday communicated his dissatisfaction over the conduct of Rangers, and also showed discontent on the interference of external institutions in the anti-corruption workings of the province.

All provinces have their own anti-corruption mechanisms, Shah stressed. “We don’t need other institutions for this [anti-corruption] work.”

He stated that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been around for a long time. “What has happened to suddenly activate them?” he questioned.

Shah was of the view that the legal jurisdiction of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is related to federal offences and ideally they shouldn’t be interfering in provincial matters.

Additionally, he expressed his unhappiness over the Rangers’ July raid at Civic Centre. He said people have rights over land, and there were many sensitive files present.

“The rangers just blindly put all the files in a truck and took them,” Shah protested.

Know more: Sindh govt, FIA at loggerheads over raid on Civic Centre

Any such action requires two witnesses for seizure of property which will go to court, but there were no such witnesses, the chief minister stated.

He further said that no other province has experienced such an occurrence. “In the case of any crime, an FIR should be registered. Without that, no investigation takes place. That’s criminal law,” Shah said.

Shah insisted that he wanted protection of the province’s rights, adding that Sindh, including Karachi, has improved considerably in terms of peace and security.

NAB detains former director of Lines Area project over ‘China-cutting’

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi on Thursday claimed to have arrested the former project director of Lines Area Re-Development Project, over charges of causing loss of Rs5 billion to national exchequer.

Fareed Ahmed Yousufani was charged with embezzlement over generating money through ‘China-cutting’, it was further alleged that funds generated through it were used to ‘finance terror activities,’ according to NAB spokesperson.

The official said that the arrested suspect was involved in illegal bifurcation, amalgamation and allotment of precious auction plots in Lines Area Re-development Project through ‘China Cutting’, bypassing the auction which was otherwise ‘mandatory’ as per law.

“The land was then illegally allotted to builders and ‘qabza mafia’ at throw away prices for bribe and commission. These illegal activities caused a loss in excess of Rs5 billion to the national exchequer.”

The above mentioned illegal land grabbing resulted into generation of “funds for terror financing and unregulated settlements for terrorist activities”, the official added.

During initial interrogation, Yousufani mentioned the names of many former project directors, former KMC administrators and KDA officers as his partners.

Accused persons have amassed huge assets for themselves through corruption, claimed NAB’s official.