LAHORE: Another member of the federal government’s ally and newly-formed Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) president Aleem Khan got a major relief as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday closed an inquiry against him for allegedly occupying and encroaching public passages and illegal extension of the Park View housing society both in Lahore and Islamabad under the new accountability laws.

The property tycoon was accused of illegally occupying ‘public passages’ and illegal extension of River Edge Housing Society in the name of Park View Villas Lahore, and also illegal extension of a housing society (Park View) in Islamabad, thus minting money from general public by selling plots in unapproved phases.

Besides, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had raised an objection saying the housing scheme was situated in a river area and could not be utilised for any residential purposes. “It is not safe for the people’s lives to allow residential construction there (Ravi area),” the LDA had observed.

The land also fell in an agricultural area and did not carry the characteristics of urban property thus the scheme was not approved. Despite this, the suspects (Aleem and others) had started selling the plots falling in the area for which approval was refused, NAB had alleged.

‘Nascent’ IPP head was accused of encroaching on public passages for his colony

Based on the finding of final investigation report and recommendations of executive board, sources said, competent authority approved termination of investigation u/s 31-B(1) of NAA, 2022.

According to sources, the NAB, however, has not closed the income beyond means inquiry against Aleem Khan under which he was arrested in 2019 when he was a provincial minister of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

According to the NAB’s record, Aleem Khan accumulated assets beyond known sources of income within Pakistan and outside. “Khan established multiple companies with the purpose of real estate business and invested millions of rupees. He bought more than 900 kanals land in different mauzas of Lahore in the name of his company M/s A&A Pvt Ltd, and also paid advance for an additional 600 kanals of land that he could not account for the sources of the said investments.”

In 2005-06, apart from the inland assets, the NAB says Aleem Khan established offshore companies in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. “The offshore companies acquired assets of extensive value which are beyond the known sources of income of the accused.”

Recently, the NAB dropped an inquiry against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his sons – Hamza and Suleman – and 13 others in a Rs16bn money laundering case after it claimed that it failed to find ‘any evidence of corruption’ (against them). The premier and his other family members secured acquittal under the new amendments introduced in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. After the amendment in the NAB laws by the incumbent ruling coalition, a number of PML-N and PPP leaders are among its beneficiaries.

Published in Dawn, Aug 1st, 2023