Islamabad, Feb 12: Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmed Butt, has disclosed a massive corruption scandal amounting to Rs. 3 trillion in Karachi. The fraudulent documentation of 7,500 acres of land in the port city has brought to light significant irregularities in property records.
Speaking at a gathering organized by the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) on Monday, the NAB chairman cautioned that opening these cases could lead to a major disruption in the real estate sector. He criticized key government bodies, including the Lyari Development Authority (LDA), Karachi Development Authority (KDA), and Malir Development Authority (MDA), for their prolonged failure to grant possession of lands to rightful allottees, some of whom have been waiting for over four decades.
ABAD Chairman Muhammad Hassan Bakhshi revealed that Karachi has seen the construction of approximately 85,000 illegal buildings in the past five years. He accused the Sindh government of unfairly distributing land to select individuals instead of ensuring transparent auctions. In response, NAB has called for evidence to determine whether these unauthorized constructions should be demolished or regularized.
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Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmed Butt further revealed that, within the last eight months, NAB successfully recovered 1.8 million acres of agricultural land in Sindh, valued at Rs. 4 trillion. The recovered land has been handed over to the Revenue Department. He acknowledged the absence of a centralized land record system in Sindh, stressing the need for reforms to prevent future land scams.
Additionally, NAB is expanding its operations to curb corruption beyond Karachi. A regional office is set to be established in Gwadar, where land fraud cases amounting to Rs. 3 trillion are currently under investigation.
ABAD’s Patron-in-Chief, Mohsin Sheikhani, proposed that NAB oversee all land transactions and recommended third-party digitization of land records to enhance transparency. He emphasized that corrupt officials manipulate records to serve their personal interests and should be held accountable.
The revelations underscore the urgent need for systemic reforms in land administration to prevent further exploitation. With NAB’s proactive approach, efforts to tackle corruption in the real estate sector are expected to gain momentum, ensuring fair practices and protecting public assets from fraudulent activities.
