Sharif denies allotting shrine’s land illegally
islamabad — Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday refused to accept allegations levelled against him for allegedly transferring 14,398 acres of Pakpattan shrine’s land during his tenure as chief minister of Punjab in 1985.
Sharif appeared before a threejudge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar in compliance with court orders.
Sharif is facing a charge that being the chief minister of Punjab in 1986 he ordered withdrawal of a notification of December 17,1969, and allegedly allotted huge lands of Auqaf around Pakpattan to Dewan Ghulam Qutab in violation of the high court order.
As the hearing began, the chief justice asked about the whereabouts of Sharif, who then proceeded to the rostrum. “What is your opinion of your written stance on the matter?” the judge asked him, to which Sharif replied: “This is a 32-year-old incident. I don’t remember any such order being passed.”
Justice Nisar then asked him if he would like to be briefed on the background of the case, and went on to explain that the claimants of the Auqaf property had petitioned the court.
“The high court also said the land belongs to the Auqaf department. But you allotted the land to a private owner in violation of the high court’s decision,” the top judge added.
“If you did not hand over the Auqaf land to a private owner, you will be absolved of all charges.” The case was later adjourned for one week. —