LAHORE: The Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Thursday sought access to former premier Nawaz Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail to grill him in a case pertaining to alleged illegal allotment of land belonging to Baba Farid shrine in Pakpattan.

The case was registered by the ACE against officials of the Auqaf and Revenue departments.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in its report earlier this year had recommended initiation of criminal proceedings against several individuals, including the then Punjab chief minister Nawaz Sharif, for withdrawing a Dec 17, 1969, notification and allotting 14,394 kanal land of Auqaf around Pakpattan to Dewan Ghulam Qutab in 1986, allegedly in violation of a Lahore High Court (LHC) order.

Headed by Hussain Asghar, the JIT report was filed on Jan 15 in the Supreme Court seeking permission to investigate Nawaz Sharif.

PML-N leader as chief minister of Punjab is said to have allotted the land in violation of a court order

On Thursday, the ACE through a letter addressed to the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat jail sought access to grill the former chief minister on July 30.

The ACE investigation team, which wants to visit the jail, comprises assistant director (investigation) Sahiwal Ghazanfar Tufail, assistant director (legal) Sahiwal Rashid Maqbool and inspector headquarters Zahid Ali.

“Facts in brief of the matter are that the subject case was registered against officers/officials of Auqaf and Revenue departments and others along with the directions to determine the role of Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif as ex-chief minister Punjab during the course of investigation”, reads the official letter.

The team, if permitted, would visit the jail on July 30.

Written by ACE Sahiwal Region Director Shafqat Ullah Mushtaq, the letter was also dispatched to the IGP prisons and the additional chief secretary, home affairs.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2019