TOBA TEK SINGH: The sister of former prime minister Imran Khan, Uzma Khan, appeared on Friday before an Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in Faisalabad in a probe into a land fraud case.

The ACE JIT headed by Deputy Director Shehram Muzaffar Mirza is probing into a case registered by its Faisalabad circle against Ms Khan for allegedly getting transferred in her name 310 kanals of land located in two villages in Athara Hazari tehsil of Jhang district in a fraudulent way.

Her counsel Khalid Shafiq Saroya told reporters that he told the JIT that the case was fabricated as the transfer of land was made in 1985, 1991 and 1992, while PTI came into power in 2018.

He alleged that Uzma Khan was being victmised for being sister of the PTI chief. He said he sought two weeks time during which both her client and the JIT would get more record of the case.

Ms Khan told the media that her counsel had apprised the JIT of the facts regarding the charges leveled against her in the FIR, adding that she was booked in the case without any justification.

She has been granted an interim bail before arrest in the case till July 24.

Meanwhile, Faisalabad ACE police station registered on Friday a case against former provincial minister for excise and taxation Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmad Gujjar (ex-MPA from PP-105, Samundri), a former assistant commissioner Faisal Sultan and Javed Bajjar, an alleged front man of the ex-minister.

Complainant Sufian Sarwar Gujjar of Samundri’s Chak 372 GB claimed in his FIR registered under section 161 of the PPC and 5/2/47 of PCA, that he was a candidate for a patwari slot in 2021 in revenue department and topped the typing and written tests in the merit list.

He alleged that the accused persons demanded Rs2.2 million as bribe from him, which he could not pay and was denied the job. Other candidates who gave the bribe were recruited against the same slots, he added. ACE Circle Officer Kaleem Ahmad has started investigation into the matter.

A few days ago, an ACE team had raided Mumtaz Gujjar’s house at Samundri, but he was not found there.

Sources say that the ex-minister, who has not announced quitting the PTI yet, had fled to the UAE.

Published in Dawn, July 22th, 2023