MULTAN: The Lahore High Court’s Multan Bench on Friday cancelled the allotment of 6,656 kanal state land in Layyah district through RL-II (a documents through which land was allotted to the people who migrated from India and shifted to Pakistan) due to fake documents.

Malik Muhammad Munir, a resident of Layyah, filed a petition in the LHC through his counsel Syed Muzamil Hassan Bukhari for the cancellation of allotments, mutations and sale deeds of the land located in various areas of Layyah. He stated that Abdul Waheed Khan who was the head of the land mafia claimed that he got the land of some people allotted in his name.

The fact was, the complainant said, the land was allotted in Khan’s name through fake claims and in connivance with the staff of revenue and colonies department of the Board of Revenue. He later sold out land.

Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal cancelled the land allotments and directed that the land should be confiscated by the authorities concerned.

In 2018, the revenue officials of Layyah allotted 2,200 kanal government land over a claim through RL-II despite the fact that the land file was lying with the Judicial Board of Revenue member in Lahore. The mutations were entered in the name of Nawab Ali at 36 chaks while the land was owned by the Thal Development Authority. Deputy Commissioner Azfar Zia cancelled the mutations in different decisions in February and March.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2021