–PM’s principal secretary Azam Khan is among those officers alloted plots in Sector D-12
ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the “out of turn” allotment of plots to nine senior civil servants, including Muhammad Azam Khan, principal secretary to Prime Minister Imran Khan, in D-12 sector of Islamabad.
The petitioner — Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, a retired BPS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) — submitted that the allotments were made “in grave violation of Rule 5(1) of Islamabad Land Disposal Regulations 2005”. In fact, the plots were created by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at its first-ever meeting in 2020.
The petition reads: “On March 3, nine tailor-made plots in the prime and developed sector D-12 of Islamabad were offered/allotted, out of turn by the respondent No 1 [Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation] to respondents 5 to 13 who are serving and retired civil servants/officers promoted to BS-22 in 2018, 2019.”
According to the petition, the CDA created the plots while exercising power under Section 19 read with Section 21 of the CDA Ordinance, 1960, on the pretext of an amendment to the layout plan of D-12, and FGEHF allotted these to the Azam Khan, Aviation Division Secretary Hasan Nasir Jamy, States and Frontier Regions Secretary Mohammad Aslam, Petroleum Division Secretary Mian Asad Hayauddin, Planning Division Secretary Zafar Hassan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) custom policy member Mohammad Javed Ghani, FBR legal and accounting member Fazal Yazdani Khan, Syed Ejaz Ali Shah Wasti, presently posted in the establishment division and former information secretary Shafqat Jalil.
The petition claimed that the allotment of plots to the above-mentioned officers is “not only illegal but also unreasonable, tainted with mala fides and involves procedural impropriety. Hence, the entire process of creation and allotment of plots under challenge is liable to set aside.”
The petition pointed out that since D-12 was an already developed sector, under the ILD regulations 2005, the CDA cannot allot a plot in this sector to any serving or retired officer.
It said the CDA made a decision to amend the layout plan of the sector and has given one month to aggrieved persons to file objections. However, “it is interesting to note that CDA, even without waiting for the expiry of one month time, proceeded to place the plots…at the disposal of the respondent No. 1.”
FGEHF without evolving any mechanism for allotment of developed plots proceeded to allot the plots to the above mentioned senior bureaucrats, the petition added.
“The hurriedness on the part of the CDA and FGEHF in the process of creation and allotment of plots under challenge manifestly makes it abundantly clear that this exercise was not done in the normal course of business but was a pre-planned act to oblige some blue-eyed individuals,” the petition claimed.
“It is a matter of record that no advertisement has been made in newspapers or any other manner to invite objection of the general public before taking decision for amendment of the layout plan of sector D-12.” And thus, the authorities violated the fundamental rights of the general public.
The petition pointed out that under the regulations, the civil servants could only be allotted plots in undeveloped sectors, in sector D-12 officer promoted to BS-22 in 2012. Those promoted in the last few years were given plots in the upcoming sectors of F-14 and F-15.
It claimed that being promoted in recent years, the above-mentioned officers could only get plots in the upcoming sectors, not in a developed sector like D-12.
