ISLAMABAD - The three retired generals on Thursday appeared before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation team in a case related to alleged fraudulent allotment of 103 kanals of Pakistan Railways land to Royal Palm Golf Club in Lahore, which caused a loss of over Rs 10 billion to the national exchequer.
Lt-Gen (r) Javed Ashraf Qazi, Lt-Gen (r) Saeeduz Zafar and Maj-Gen (r) Hassan Butt who were summoned by NAB on Wednesday appeared before investigating team and recorded their statements on alleged involvement in the lease of Railways land to the Royal Palm Golf Club at throwaway price, the NAB spokesman said.
He said that the NAB had issued summons on Wednesday last to three retired Generals and two civilian officers including Khursheed Ahmad Khan former Member Finance Pakistan Railways and Iqbal Samad Khan ex-GM Operations Pakistan Railways involved in the Railways land scam.
The three retired Generals appeared before investigation team and recorded their statements while two civilian officers have been summoned on Monday, November 5, by the investigation team to record their statement.
He said that the investigation of the land scam is at final stage and will be completed soon.
Former Railways Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi, after appearing before NAB investigation team, used derogatory language when journalists outside NAB headquarters questioned him regarding his involvement in Railways land scam. Saeeduz Zafar while talking to media said the case is pending in the apex court and court would prove either he is guilty or not.
A federal audit carried out in 2007 found that the government had lost Rs 10 billion by leasing out 103 acres of land to the club built in early 2000 on Pakistan Railways land in the heart of Lahore.
A special National Assembly Committee headed by Gondal was set up in 2008 to investigate the matter. In a report submitted to the House in October 2010, the Committee said the government had lost four times the amount earlier estimated - i.e. Rs 40 billion. The Committee had recommended that the contract be cancelled and disciplinary action taken against the then Federal Railways Minister Lt Gen (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi, Secretary Lt Gen (Retd) Saeeduz Zafar and ex-General Manager Maj-Gen (Retd) Hamid Hassan Butt.
The National Assembly had unanimously approved the recommendations.
The Supreme Court later took a suo motu notice of the deal and completed its hearing on the case in March last year. But it has yet to issue a judgement.
In May 2012, Yasmin Rehman of PPP had suggested that the Attorney General should convey the Committee's concern to the Supreme Court and facilitate an early release of the judgement. "This (club) was one of the former military regime's major scandals. We need to reach some logical conclusion on the issue," she said.