How Army Generals
will become billionaires, overnight
Special
SAT Report
RAWALPINDI:
Top Pakistan Army Generals, and their fortunate juniors, who own
prime property in the heart of Islamabad’s sister city,
Rawalpindi, are on the verge of turning into billionaires over
night.
According
to well informed insiders a summary is being prepared recommending
that Rawalpindi’s busy Peshawar Road and the posh Mall Road,
where army officers predominantly own large properties, be declared
as Commercial areas, thus multiplying the value of these properties
several times over in one stroke.
The
question being raised is why this concession is being restricted
to these areas? Insiders confide that it is being done because
one of the top most Generals owns land right next to the old Frontier
Works Organization (FWO) Headquarters on Peshawar Road and wants
to put up a gas station and build a commercial plaza, without
paying the conversion fee.
Conversion
of residential property to commercial is allowed even now but
a hefty fees has to be paid by the owner and that restricts many
from opting for the change. If the change is ordered by the Government
under a new policy, everybody will benefit though the exchequer
may lose.
Real
estate experts say one General, owner of a major hospital, who
has taken possession of the old Supreme Court building on Peshawar
Road on the pretext of running a social welfare outfit, will see
the value of his land multiply into billions. The same will be
true for all those retired or serving property owners in this
area.
Peshawar
Road and Mall Road are two of the busiest places in Rawalpindi
and properties are pre-dominantly owned by army personnel as this
is the center of the military presence, with the Army GHQ located
on the Mall Road itself, close to the biggest hotel of Rawalpindi.
There
are also reports that conversions in the Saddar Area, which had
been limited into a time frame with a cut off date, may now be
given a further extension to enable owners to apply if they could
not do it so far.
The extension is being done to benefit another top notch General,
whose family had earlier shown lethargy in getting its property
located near Hati Chowk in Saddar, converted into a new commercial
lease.
The
management of all properties in military controlled “Cantonment
areas” was the sole right of Army authorities but the second
Government of Benazir Bhutto cut into this huge commercial asset
and changed the old British Act to take discretion away from the
Quarter Master General of the Army and the Ministry of Defense.
This
Benazir decision raised alarm bells in the GHQ as this meant public
scrutiny of whatever would happen in the future in the Cantt areas
and was one of the main reasons why the Army hates Benazir Bhutto
as an institution.
Under the amended law a policy was drawn up by the Ministry of
Defense, but bureaucrats played their tricks with the PPP government
and formulated a much softer policy, whittling down the intent
of Benazir’s directive in many ways.
One
constraint plugged in was that all property owners desirous of
converting from old grant to new lease or for converting from
residential to commercial must do so within three years.
Secondly,
the fee for conversion was to be determined by a Committee headed
by Army’s General Officer Commanding (GOC). The other members
were Station Commander, Log Area Commander etc. Due to public
objections, however, the latter was modified and fixed rates were
announced for conversion from residential to commercial.
Most
private property owners continued to pay the rather steep fees
for conversions. But now if the law is changed and officially
a particular area is declared as commercial, it would mean a windfall
for the owners.
The
summary being prepared under quiet instructions of the top Generals
would put the new political government of Mr. Jamali in a difficult
position as it would be seen by all as a special favor to the
military owners of property.
Interestingly
the Ministry of Defense is again headed by a top PPP leader, Rao
Sikandar, who has defected from the mainstream PPP to join the
Forward Bloc in support of the pro-army government of Mr. Jamali.
But
the political leader who will face the toughest time explaining
any such decisions would be Information Minister and Rawalpindi’s
popular politician Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. He will have to come up
with a lot of arguments to convince his voters and constituents,
specially living outside the areas which are to be declared commercial.
