Pak exevacuee trust chief held guilty of selling gurdwara land

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had held Syed Asif Akhtar Hashmi, former Chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), guilty of illegal selling of gurdwara land.

Hashmi, who sold the gurdwara lands during his tenure as chairman of ETPB, is presently residing in Dubai.

Evacuee Trust Property Board, established in 1960, is a statutory board of the government of Pakistan, which administers evacuee properties and shrines of Hindus and Sikhs attached to religious, charitable or educational trusts, left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India after Partition.

On observing the illegal activities of the former chairman, Mastan Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council of Pakistan and former president of the Pakistan Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), and Gulab Singh, inspector in Pakistan Punjab Police filed a case against Hashmi in 2011 for illegal selling of the gurdwara property.

Hashmi had sold 807 acres of the 1,260 acres belonging to Bebe Nanki Gurdwara Dera Chahal at Mota Singhwala village in Lahore. Hashmi planned to construct private residential quarters, parking and plaza on the said land, with the collaboration of Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Highland Living Concept and Elcium Concept.