NEWSLINE -- JUNE 1999

ALL IN THE FAMILY

By Amir Mir

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law is accused of land grabbing, as the authorities look the other way...

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law, Captain Muhammad Safdar, and his brother, Muhammad Waqar, have been charged with illegally grabbing hundreds of kanals of land in the village Balhag and other villages of lower Tanawal area in Mansehra by Muhammad Saeed Khan, an advocate of village Balhag. "Safdar brought with him dozens of armed bandits from the Punjab in the second week of May and unleashed a rein of terror in the area. The law-enforcing agencies and other officials of the revenue department were rendered helpless. The patwari of Jallu circle refused to issue a single revenue paper to enable us to take action in court. And the police at the Mansehra, Saddar station area also clearly reluctant to lodge any report against the captain and his brother despite our written complaints," said Saeed.

According to the advocate, his father, Wali Muhammad Khan, was the co-owner with other members of his family of about 1,500 kanals of land in different villages in lower Tanawal area, and the land stood legally unpartitioned. Taking advantage of the fact that the land had not been divided between the various owners, Saeed said that Captain Safdar first manipulated a fight between the owners, and then had one of them transfer some of the land in his father, Muhammad Ishaq's name at a throw-away price. "Initially, only five kanals of land were transferred into Mohammed Ishaq's name, but on May 8, Safdar and his brother Waqar stormed Balhag with the help of dozens of armed bandits from the Punjab. They bulldozed 20 kanals of land, ploughed it and took possession of it. Safdar himself supervised the operation, wielding a kalashinkov while doing so," said Saeed. He also maintained that, "While taking possession of the land, neither the revenue staff nor any law enforcing agencies were allowed to enter the area." Saeed added that this was not Safdar's only transgression.

"The Prime Minister's son-in-law has not even spared the poorest of the poor," said Saeed claiming that two kanals of land and katcha house owned by a poor man, Shafi Gujjar was expelled from the village by him through brute force. An angry Saeed said Safdar's family claimed to be from the Awan tribe. "I challenge them about this claim. They are not Awans -- Awans are always philanthropic, brave and handsome. This lot is none of these." He also said he was going public with his case because, "I apprehend the lodging of false and fabricated cases against me and my family." He stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif goes out on a limb to aid the Muslims in Kashmir, Bosnia and Kosovo, but help closer to home would be more apt -- more so because the perpetrators of injustice in this case were members of the Prime Minister's own family.