NAWABSHAH: Ali Raza Dahiri, the younger brother of former special assistant to the chief minister, Ismail Dahiri, on Tuesday rejected all allegations levelled against his brother and other family members by their rivals in a property dispute.

Ismail Dahiri, a close aide to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, along with his other brother and 45 associates, was arrested in the June 27 raid on his residence by a joint team of Rangers and police. Arms and ammunition as well as dozens of mobile phones and other articles were seized from them.

On Monday, some residents of Daur taluka held a rally against Ismail Dahiri accusing him of illegally occupying 135 acres near Bandhi owned by Haji Mohammed Bachal Jamali with the help of his armed men.

They also alleged that Dahiri and his men had turned the taluka into a no-go area for other people.

Strongly rejecting the allegations, Ali Raza Dahiri told a news conference at the Nawabshah Press Club on Tuesday that Ismail had acquired 630 acres of farmland on Maqata (rent) from Abdul Qadir Sethar three years back and made the payment.

He claimed that Jamalis had been approached [to know about any objection] at the time of acquiring the land. The Jamalis initially sought a month’s time to respond but since then they never came in contact with the Dahiri family despite repeated attempts, he added.

He insisted that the land in question did not belong to Jamalis but Qadir Sethar, claiming that the matter was taken up with the DC concerned and the Jamalis’ claim was proved wrong. He said the Jamalis had also lost their case for ownership in the Sindh High Court.

Ali Raza Dahiri also claimed that the weapons seized from their house at the time of Ismail’s arrest were legal and licensed.

This would be proved in court and Ismail as well as other arrested people would be released soon, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2018