RAHIM YAR KHAN: The Municipal Committee of Rahim Yar Khan is under public scrutiny for allegedly bypassing transparency laws to lease out 26 kanals of prime public land to a welfare private school administration with a documented history of chronic default and forgery.
Legal experts and citizens aware of the case are alarmed how the state property was handed over to a third party without an open public auction, in apparent violation of the Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and Local Government (Property) Rules.
According to official record (available with Dawn) the dispute centres around a tract of land on Airport Road, initially leased to Idara Islamia Model School in March 1982 for a 30-year term at a nominal rate of Rs5 per kanal.
After the lease expired in February 2012, the school administration maintained possession by producing a purportedly fabricated “99-year lease extension” via a letter dated 05-04-1994. The municipality formally cancelled the forged letter in December 2020 but it failed to register a first information report (FIR) or initiate criminal proceedings against the people who fabricated the extension order to defraud the state. Following a rent re-assessment in 2023, which fixed the monthly rent at Rs200,000, and after the accumulation of over Rs6 million in arrears, the MC finally sealed the premises in August 2025.
No public auction, lease-holder has documented history of default and forgery
The sealing of the girls’ school triggered litigation in the Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur Bench and the local district and sessions court.
Instead of leveraging the legal victory to reclaim the property and hold a transparent public auction to maximise revenue for the state, the MC and district administration allegedly entered into a closed-door settlement in early 2026.
A new five-year lease agreement was executed which actually starts from Sept 1, 2023, allowing the same administration to retain control of the property upon the submission of post-dated cheques to clear the arrears.
Legal practitioners point out that under the garb of a “comprehensive settlement”, leasing out public property without a competitive bidding process causes massive financial losses to the public exchequer.
“When a lease expires, and particularly when the occupants have relied on fictitious documents to maintain illegal possession, the only legal course is to resume the land and re-auction it,” stated a senior lawyer familiar with the PPRA rules.
“Rewarding proven defaulters with a new agreement behind closed doors sets a dangerous precedent.”
When this correspondent visited the office of ADCG/MC Administrator Malik Farooq Ahmed, he said the new agreement of June 2026 between the MC and Saleem Hasan (Adara Islamia Model School representative), was in his knowledge and there was no irregularity in it. He further claimed that all the legal requirements were fulfilled in his presence, however, he didn’t answer different questions on the issue. He rather questioned this correspondent why you have any objection to this lease.
Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Anwar Jappa said the entire issue was in accordance with the law. He said the lease-holder has been directed to deposit all outstanding amounts after expiry of lease from March 1, 2012, till now, including the amount of Rs5.326 million with the MC within 30 days of this order (dated 05-01-2026).
If the lessee intends to continue using the land for education purposes, it must submit a fresh application for lease under the Punjab Local Government Act. The MC shall process this strictly on merit at current market rates. No restoration of possession shall take place until 100pc of the calculated arrears are deposited, the DC said.
Failure to deposit the dues within the stipulated time frame will result in immediate forfeiture of any right to settle, and RYK MC shall be free for use of land in question as per law/policy, the DC said.
About other queries, the DC said he would instruct the MC authorities to contact you but till the filling of this report none contacted this correspondent.
Dawn called MC Chief Officer Rana Mahmood Ahmed and also sent him a text message for his version but he didn’t reply.
Adara Islamia Model School representative Ahsan Saleem refused to talk on the issue.
Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026
