HATTIAN BALA: A resident of Hattian Bala alleged that the officials of the Inland Revenue Department of the Azad Kashmir government are being backed by influential people in the Khalsa Sarkar land issue.
Zulfiqar Hussain Shah, a resident of Chandkot village, expressed serious concerns over the lack of redress for the affected families, stating that the revenue department in collaboration with the land mafia has been occupying Khalsa settlement land.
While speaking at the District Press Club Hattian Bala, Shah, who was also a victim of the corruption, said that the land mafia has seized government and private land with the connivance of Revenue Department officials.
He alleged that lands containing canals were illegally seized through fake land titles, while the affected families were forced to stumble for justice.
The resident said that Sadiq Khan and Sajawal Khan are usurping public rights along with some Revenue Department officials, adding that markets are being built boldly on the land of the Khalsa Sarkar, and the officers of the Revenue Department are themselves monitoring this illegal process, which makes their complicity clear.
Syed Zulfiqar Hussain Shah argued that if a common citizen builds a house on his inherited land, he is subjected to a strict approval process, while illegal construction is going unhindered on the Srinagar-Jhelum Valley Highway, which is under the jurisdiction of the National Highway Authority (NHA).
He expressed surprise at the silence of the district administration and said that despite the Supreme Court’s stay order, illegal activities are going on, and everyone from the Naib Tehsildar to the Deputy Commissioner is a silent spectator.
He demanded Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Anwar ul Haq, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief Secretary AJK, the IG of Azad Kashmir, and other high officials to immediately take legal action against the land mafia and provide justice to the affected families and bring the illegal occupation mafia to justice.
