KARACHI: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman, retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmed Butt, has raised serious concerns over widespread real estate fraud in Sindh, revealing that forged documents for 7,500 acres of land in Karachi have resulted in corruption worth Rs3,000 billion. His remarks came during a visit to the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) on Monday, as stated in an ABAD press release on Tuesday.
The NAB chief warned that opening these cases could lead to major upheaval and criticised the failure of key development authorities—Lyari Development Authority (LDA), Karachi Development Authority (KDA), and Malir Development Authority (MDA)—to provide possession of plots to rightful allottees over the past four decades.
He assured builders and developers that NAB is committed to addressing their concerns and urged ABAD to provide solid evidence of corruption. He reaffirmed NAB’s support, stating that the bureau should be seen as an ally in the fight against illegal practices.
ABAD Chairman Muhammad Hassan Bakhshi revealed that 85,000 illegal buildings have been constructed in Karachi over the past five years. He accused the Sindh government of selling land to select individuals instead of holding fair auctions and called for a transparent land grant policy.
In response, the NAB chairman acknowledged the challenges builders face and promised action. He encouraged ABAD to provide concrete evidence of these illegal constructions, so appropriate measures—whether demolition or regularisation—could be taken.
NAB has recovered 1.8 million acres of agricultural land in Sindh, valued at Rs4,000 billion, over the past eight months, handing it over to the Revenue Department. The chairman also noted reforms in NAB’s complaint system, reducing cases from 4,500 to about 150-200, with 21,000 old complaints dismissed.
Addressing systemic issues, he highlighted the lack of proper land record-keeping in Sindh, where different land departments function independently without interlinking. He announced upcoming major actions regarding land records and directed the NAB Director-General to submit a report on Karachi’s master plan oversight.
Additionally, he revealed plans to establish a regional NAB office in Gwadar to tackle ongoing land corruption cases, involving properties worth approximately Rs3,000 billion.
ABAD’s Patron-in-Chief Mohsin Sheikhani proposed that all land transactions be verified by NAB to curb corruption. He stressed the importance of digitising Sindh’s land records, warning that corruption has become deeply entrenched due to manual manipulation. He suggested using third-party services for digitisation to ensure transparency, arguing that allowing corrupt institutions to digitise their own records would only perpetuate fraud.
The NAB chairman reiterated his commitment to addressing Karachi’s real estate issues and ensuring accountability, promising strict action against any NAB official found harassing individuals unlawfully.
