ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: Deputy Commissioner Tariq Mehmood Khan on Tuesday froze the bank accounts of National Assembly Cooperative Housing Society (NACHS) and banned sale/purchase of plots for Society’s violation of registration act, a source in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration told Dawn on Tuesday.

The source said the Society had been directed to stop its operations till further orders. The NACHS had sold plots on paper without having the required land.

The source said Secretary National Assembly Mehmood Saleem had also been informed about the decision. He said Mr Mehmood was also concerned about the violations of the Society.

The source said the deputy commissioner had referred the case to the Administrative and Monitoring Committee of Cooperative Societies (AMCCS) to check how much land the Society had acquired and whether its fresh election were required.

The AMCCS, comprising five members including the additional deputy commissioner (general) Islamabad, assistant commissioner (Saddar), assistant commissioner (city), excise and taxation officer and circle registrar, will present it report to the deputy commissioner after which the fate of the Society would be decided.

An official of the ICT administration told this reporter that the Society was registered with the ICT in 1987 and it was being established near Soan. He said the Society had failed to meet the criteria of the ICT and registration act under which plots could be sold only after purchase of adequate land.

Responding to a question, the officials said the NACHS was short of 100 Kanals and it was purchasing more land to meet the criteria.

He confirmed that the bank accounts of the Society had been frozen to stop outflow of money from the account. However, he added, there was no bar on depositing of money into the account.