LAHORE: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in Punjab, Sahiwal region, has dropped an inquiry against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over the alleged illegal allotment of Waqf property in Pakpattan.
According to sources, ACE Punjab declared Nawaz Sharif innocent and the inquiry was initiated to victimize him politically. In 2019, Nawaz Sharif was interrogated by an ACE Punjab team regarding the same case.
The Waqf property in question was attached to the shrine of Baba Fariduddin Masud Ganj Shakar, and it was claimed that the property had been illegally allotted.
Dewan Ghulam Qutab and his family were initially the owners of the shrine’s land, as per revenue records from 1947 to 1958.
The family sold pieces of the land to different people, but the Punjab government notified the Auqaf Department as the rightful owner of the land and Dewans as the custodian of the shrine.
Later, the Dewans moved to the Lahore High Court, but the case was decided against them.
In 1986, the government withdrew its 1970 notification, and the Dewans resumed their land-selling business.
However, in 2015, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the land deals of the shrine and nullified all land deals done since then, affecting 100,000 residents of different localities.
