Islamabad Ehsan Bukhari Special Correspondent
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested three senior officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) over their alleged involvement in a multi-million rupee corruption and forgery scandal related to land compensation.
According to sources, the arrested officials include Miraj Afridi (Assistant Executive Engineer), Mehmood Irfan Qureshi (Assistant Executive Engineer), and Naeem Akhtar (Sub-Engineer, Federal Government Employees Housing Authority). The case has been registered under FIR No. 24/2025 dated May 27, 2025, under Sections 109, 409, 420, 468, 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 1947.
The officers are accused of manipulating a Supplementary Award issued on March 20, 2017, under Section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894, related to constructed properties on land in Mauza Thalla Syedan (G-14/3), Islamabad. Investigations revealed that fake co-owners were fraudulently inserted into official documents, allowing them to illegally receive compensation meant for genuine property owners.
One of the affected parties, Ghulam Fatima (widow of Abdul Rasheed) and her family, had 12 built-up properties (BUPs) with assigned numbers such as 994, 995, 996, 999, 1006, 1007, 997, 998, 1010, 988, 991, and 1000. While some compensation was correctly disbursed, BUP numbers 1000, 996, 999, 1006, and 1007 were illegally awarded to individuals who were neither legitimate owners nor listed in any official records.
FIA sources confirm that the arrested officials colluded with private individuals to unlawfully allocate compensation funds and plots. The accused fake co-owners had no legal claim or documentation to support their entitlement.
More arrests are expected as the FIA continues its investigation into this major forgery scandal, which has raised serious concerns about the transparency and integrity of land allotment processes in Islamabad. Public calls for high-level accountability are growing louder as this case unfolds.
