Land record digitisation to defeat Qabza groups: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said that use of technology would help to defeat land grabbers as now anyone can get information of plots and other lands online.

“Investment and prosperity come when there is the rule of law and justice is done and Land Record Digitisation and Cadastral Mapping in Islamabad is a major step towards that end,” he maintained.

Prime Minister Imran Khan was addressing the inaugural function regarding Land Record Digitisation and Cadastral Mapping here. He praised the land record digitisation system and said that one thousand acres of forest land has been seized in Islamabad.

He said that this work had been done as there were many land mafias who did not want it to be, for this best suited them and they had accumulated wealth by land grabbing. He termed the new initiative as a major development towards transparency, which these mafias are opposed to.

Premier Imran pointed out that FBR should have been computerised a long time ago but it is not happening because the reason for not computerisation is to benefit the interest groups more. He noted there are big land grabbers’ groups in Pakistan at present, who have made so much money by occupying lands, they do not want such work.

Speaking on the potential of overseas Pakistanis again, he said that they could alone help deal with the current account deficit, which was linked to rupee value and inflation. “Overseas Pakistanis can invest here with comfort, but failed in the past to provide them the environment that is required for this purpose,” he contended.

He explained that overseas Pakistanis, often tended to invest by buying plots but the powerful mafia used to occupy these plots and to get these back from them was impossible. He added in the courts, almost 50 percent cases were concerning property.

The PM said that Rs300 billion worth of land was grabbed or unused in Islamabad, similarly Rs100 billion worth of one thousand acres of forest land had been occupied in the federal capital. He said that the threat of transparency is to those people who have made so much money due to lack of transparency in Pakistan and have become powerful people.

He said that there is a lot of oppression on the weak people and the government as well. If powerful people occupy someone’s land, it is impossible for the people to get rid of their control in the whole system.