80 acres of CAA land encroached upon in Islamabad, Karachi

[Naveed Yaseen]

* State minister for communications says govt ready to open Kot Abdul Malik interchange on Islamabad-Lahore section of motorway

By Tahir Niaz

ISLAMABAD: Over 80 acres of land in Deh Safooran area of Malir in Karachi and about 24 kanals of land along the Airport Link Road Islamabad, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has been encroached upon, the National Assembly was told on Thursday.

Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar told the House that no encroachment had been removed during the last five years.

He said the CAA had issued notices to the encroachers in Islamabad but due to a lack of cooperation from the local administration, the CAA had to file cases in the Rawalpindi civil court.

He said the CAA filed a civil suit against the government of Sindh for allotment of its land to Sindh police, adding that the case was sub-judice.

State Minister for Communications Imtiaz Safdar Warraich told the House that the federal government was ready to open the Kot Abdul Malik interchange on Islamabad-Lahore section of the motorway and was waiting for an NOC from the Punjab government.

He said the Punjab Highway Department was reluctant to issue the NOC because it would affect its revenue collection targets.

To a question regarding the prices being charged at service areas on the Motorway, Warraich said the commodity rates at the service areas were the same as those of Shezan International.

Minister for Postal Services Mir Israrullah Zahri told the House that 245 postal employees had been dismissed from service on charges of corruption during the last five years.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg7_29