LAHORE: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Wednesday launched an operation against illegal construction in the housing society owned by Aleem Khan, a former leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

According to an ACE spokesperson, on the direction of its Director General Nadeem Sarwar an operation was launched against illegal housing societies and construction in the province.

“On Wednesday, an ACE team along with district administration and police officials retrieved the state land illegally occupied by the Park View City on Multan Road. Illegal construction was demolished and a case registered against the suspects,” he said.

In the face of ACE action, Aleem Khan has already left the country for the UK.

Earlier, PTI leader and provincial minister Mian Aslam Iqbal had accused Aleem Khan of building the grave of his father on 2.5 kanal reserve LDA land in the Riverage Society.

In the EOBI scandal, he alleged, Aleem Khan colluded with its chairman in cheating investors. “Aleem Khan built the Park View Housing Society near the Lahore Airport, which had now been included in the DHA.

In this colony too, Aleem sold extra plots and collected billions of rupees by selling files to people,” the minister said and also alleged that he (Aleem) occupied land of a school on Burki Road, besides illegally including the road of Shahpur Kanjran into his colony. He alleged Aleem had also converted 13 kanals and 15 marla land into commercial plots allocated for a graveyard.

Park View City, Lahore, chief executive Shoaib Siddiqui had rejected the allegations leveled by Aslam Iqbal, terming them “baseless”.

The spokesperson further said the ACE Director Nadeem Sarwar had directed all officials concerned to launch a potent crackdown against the land-grabber mafia He said the district administration team of ACE headed by AC City and SP Saddar launched an operation to stop illegal construction in the Park View housing society as construction work was being done on the state land by it.

“Six houses were being constructed on the state land whereas few people were residing in one house. All houses have been taken into government custody whereas two under-construction houses were demolished. A crackdown has been launched against the illegal construction and encroachments in the Park View for the first time,” he said.

He said a proactive crackdown was being launched against all illegal housing societies in Lahore. The ACE’s action Aleem Khan’s “illegal grabbing of state land” has come in the backdrop of his falling out with the PTI leadership and joining hands with the Sharifs.

Aleem was on forefront in causing defections by the PTI MPAs who helped Hamza Shahbaz form government in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2022