JIT to probe Sharif’s role in land transfer case
islamabad — The Supreme Court on Thursday formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe allegations of the illegal allotment of Waqf property attached to a Pakpattan shrine against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a suo motu case pertaining to the transfer of 14,000 kanals of land of the Pakpattan shrine to Dewan Ghulam Qutab in 1985 when he was chief minister of Punjab.
The bench after hearing arguments from both sides decided to constitute the JIT to investigate the case in detail. Justice Nisar observed that documents submitted before the bench relating to property clearly highlighted that Nawaz Sharif as Punjab chief minister transferred the
Auqaf Department’s land to a private owner in violation the Lahore High Court orders.
When the chief justice asked Barrister Zafarullah, counsel for Sharif, how he wanted the matter to be probed, Zafarullah responded: “The court can ask anyone to probe it.”
Subsequently, the bench constituted the JIT which would be headed by National Counter Terrorism Authority
(Nacta) chairman Khaliq Dad Lak and comprised an official each of the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau.
The chief justice said that terms of references of the JIT will be finalised by December 27 and directed the JIT members to appear before it.
“The JIT will probe the role of then chief minister of Punjab province Nawaz Sharif in the transfer of the land,” the bench added.
On previous hearing, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif denied allegations about transfer of Pakpattan shrine’s land during his tenure as chief minister of Punjab in 1985.
The former prime minister said that he had not passed any order regarding withdrawal of a notification of allotment to individual, Dewan Ghulam Qutab, in violation of a Lahore High Court order.
In October, the top court directed Nawaz Sharif to submit within two weeks a reply related to withdrawal of a notification concerning the Auqaf property attached with the shrine of Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakar, Pakpattan, which had taken place about 32 years ago. —