Several senior bureaucrats, including high-ranking police officers, have been allotted plots in Islamabad’s upscale E-11 sector at prices set over two decades ago, amounting to just 1.5% of the current market rate, Dawn reported.
The recipients include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General (IG) Akhtar Hayat Khan, Punjab IG Dr. Usman Anwar, and other senior police officials, including Sabir Ahmed (current National Police Foundation Managing Director), Deputy IGs Karim Khan and Syed Ali Mohsin, as well as a former interior secretary.
Similarly, Punjab Additional IG Bilal Siddique Kamyana, currently serving as Lahore’s Capital City Police Officer, was allotted a one-kanal plot in the NPF Scheme in Sector O-9 for Rs500,000, far below its current market value of Rs30 million.
These allotments were made under the National Police Foundation (NPF) policy, which applies pre-2000 rates when such plots were valued at Rs1.5 million.
The market value of a one-kanal plot in E-11 is approximately Rs100 million, yet these plots were allotted for only Rs1.57 million each.
NPF Managing Director Sabir Ahmed defended the decision, stating that the plots were allotted under the foundation’s rules, which allow cancellation of plots lying vacant for decades due to untraceable owners.
However, the policy has drawn criticism from some quarters. Former DIG Shahid Iqbal, an original allottee, has challenged the cancellation of his plot in civil court after it was reallocated to DIG Mohsin Ali. He alleged that the NPF management refused to restore his allotment despite his appeals.
Other police officials have raised concerns about fairness in the allotment process. Former Additional IG Saleemullah Khan claimed that the NPF had previously denied his request for a plot, citing unavailability, but later reallocated plots to select officers by canceling those belonging to original allottees.
Documents reveal that former interior secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani was allotted a plot just weeks before his retirement. Before stepping down, Durrani issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) that altered the composition of the NPF board, increasing the foundation’s autonomy.
The updated SRO included eight NPF directors as board members, replacing the original setup, which comprised the interior secretary, FIA director general, IGs from all four provinces, and the NPF managing director.
Critics argue that these changes, coupled with the reallocation of plots at outdated rates, appear to benefit select individuals, raising questions about transparency and fairness in the NPF’s operations.
