FIA recovers government properties from illegal occupants in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI: The Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) Anti-Corruption Circle Islamabad carried out an operation in Rawalpindi to reclaim abandoned Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) properties and government assets that had been illegally occupied.

An FIA spokesman stated that the recovery drive was initiated on the directions of Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi and FIA Director General Dr Usman Anwar. The spokesman added that a nationwide campaign has been launched to retrieve government properties and assets from illegal occupants.

Operation details

A special team was constituted on the instructions of Director FIA Islamabad Zone Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari and Deputy Director Mir Faizanul Haq to carry out the operation. The team was led by Assistant Director FIA Shahid Ilyas and SHO Anti-Corruption Circle Shahzad Sarwar Khakwani.

The operation targeted abandoned Evacuee Trust Board property located in the Tyre Bazaar area, which falls within the jurisdiction of Ganj Mandi Police Station. The properties were recovered from illegal occupants and subsequently handed over to the concerned authorities.

Security measures during operation

In order to prevent any untoward incident during the recovery operation, appropriate security arrangements were made by the FIA team. The operation was part of the broader effort being carried out across the country to reclaim state-owned properties that have been illegally encroached upon.

The campaign reflects the federal government's push to recover valuable state assets that have remained under illegal occupation. The FIA's Anti-Corruption Circle has been tasked with identifying and reclaiming such properties in coordination with relevant departments, including the Evacuee Trust Property Board.

The Evacuee Trust Property Board manages properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India during the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. Many of these properties across Pakistan have over the decades been illegally occupied by individuals and groups, and successive governments have attempted recovery drives to reclaim them.