LAHORE: Many overseas Pakistanis continue to face agony as their valued properties in the provincial capital are either illegally occupied or sold on the basis of forged documents.

It is learnt that the value of the land/property that has been retrieved from the mafia during the last six months or so in Lahore is estimated at Rs3.7 billion. Most complainants had left their homeland after handing over their properties to their relatives and tenants under some agreement but the land mafia occupied these through forged documents or sold these illegally.

This is evident from statistics which shows that 1,271 overseas Pakistanis who own properties in the provincial capital approached the Overseas Commission of Pakistan. Most complaints are about illegal occupation of land, family disputes, non-vacation of land or property, money disputes etc.

In one such case, an overseas Pakistani settled in the UAE on Wednesday got his property worth over Rs25 million back from a dealer of Defence Housing Authority. Irfan Shahzad had payed this amount to Ghulam Abbas to purchase land in the DHA one year ago. The dealer allegedly misused his funds and later allotted a plot through some forged documents to him when he pursued his case from the UAE through his relatives in Lahore.

On finding fraud by the dealer, Irfan filed a complaint with the Overseas Pakistanis Commission through the Overseas Pakistani Complaint Portal on Feb 15 this year, an official privy to the information told Dawn.

He said after verification the Commission referred the case to the Lahore District Overseas Pakistani Committee (DOPC) for action. The committee held many meetings with both parties and finally, the dealer in the last and final meeting held at the Lahore Capital City Police Office was held responsible for the forgery.

On Wednesday, Ghulam Abbas allotted property to the complainant in another housing society located in Jaranwala. The value of this property was equal to the amount Mr Irfan had paid to the DHA dealer and an agreement was signed by both sides in the presence of the committee headed by CCPO retired Capt Amin Wains.

“The DOPC during last six months expedited efforts, heard parties and resolved 839 cases out of 1,271 in marathon meetings,” focal person Ayub Bhatti told Dawn. He said Pakistani boxer Imran Bashir, who was settled in the UK, was among the victims of the mafia.

Dual nationality holder, Imran had rented out his one-kanal house worth over Rs30 million at Model Town Link Road to Sher Baz Sukhera, he said. Imran in his application to the commission alleged that Mr Sukhera, a highly influential person, had illegally occupied his house claiming to be owner through some forged documents.

Mr Bhatti said after hearing both parties in some meetings, the DOPC found Mr Sukhera guilty. The house was later vacated from him and handed over to the complainant.

He said it’s for the first time that the committee had settled many issues of disputed land and properties worth over Rs3.7 billion during a very short period.

Out of 106 complaints of the overseas Pakistanis that were related to non-vacation, he said, 115 were resolved by the DOPC while 50 were being heard, he said.

Similarly, the focal person said, of the 124 money disputes, 72 were resolved and 52 were pending. Of the 94 cases of illegal occupation, 52 were resolved and 42 were under hearing.

The 43 complaints of property fraud were received by the DOPC. Of them, 28 were resolved and 15 pending.

Some 62 complaints were against private housing societies of Lahore, Mr Bhatti said, adding that 49 had been addressed while 13 are pending decision.

The DOPC is now hearing the remaining 432 complaints of overseas Pakistanis.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2017