LAHORE, May 27: Mian Shafqat Ali, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, has called upon Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to take action against land grabbers and qabza groups responsible for damaging investment climate and disparaging the country’s image.

In a letter addressed to the prime minister on Saturday, he said at a time when the government was taking all possible measures to facilitate foreign investors and allocating lands for establishing industrial zones, the land grabbers were putting a reverse gear to all these efforts.

The law and order situation was fast getting out of control and there was an urgent need to tighten the noose around unscrupulous elements, who were bent upon destroying the entire system for their vested interests. The situation had worsened to the extent that the land grabbers had started depriving businessmen of their property in connivance with low-cadre revenue officials like patwaris and clerks, who manipulated the records to facilitate the qabza groups, he was quoted to have stated in his letter.

The LCCI president has also cited the example of an office-bearer of the chamber, who has been deprived of his lawful possession of over 307 kanals situated at Mauza Wan Adhan in Pattoki tehsil, Kasur. “The area is ruled by the Nakai clan and their word is law in that area. In this particular case, Sardar Atif Nakai, brother of a federal minister, in connivance with the land grabbers, forcibly took away the possession of the land of LCCI senior vice-president Abdul Basit. They manipulated the revenue record and occupied the land,” read the letter.

He said this was not the only case, as these qabza groups had strong links with influential people of their areas and enjoyed the status of VIPs despite all their misdeeds.

The LCCI president urged the prime minister to take action against these anti-social elements for the good of the country.