96 years punishment for mafia for stealing land of British-Pakistani businessman

District and Sessions Judge Ali Nawaz of Anti-Corruption Rawalpindi Court has handed out a sentence of 96 years of rigorous imprisonment and a total fine of Rs 5.8 million to four people, including two revenue officials, for their involvement in multiple cases of cheating, manipulation, and fraudulent ownership papers forgery against a prominent British Pakistani family. The investigative story has been covered by Chief Correspondent of Geo News, Murtaza Ali Shah.

The convicted men are Raja Shahid Ahmed, Muhammad Almas Abbasi, Haq Nawaz Abbasi and two government officials Aurangzeb Patwari, Malik Muhammad Safdar.

The case was registered in 2021 in Rawalpindi by the complainant Nisar Afzal and his son Hamzah Afzal accusing two revenue officials – Aurangzeb Patwari, Malik Muhammad Safdar – of conspiring and forging their land records to transfer it to three above-mentioned people.

The fraud was confirmed by a report of Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) as it was established that the land records were tampered with in order to steal the land worth around Rs 3 billion.

“I am of the considered view that the accused persons had committed cheating, fraud, manipulation, prepared fake documents with the purpose and intention to get wrongful loss to the complainant and unlawful gain for them,” stated the ruling by Judge.

“I suffered so much that some of my family members left for the UK, faced with threats to kill by the accused. This was a case of a daylight robbery. I am thankful to the court and the prosecution for giving me justice. Overseas Pakistanis are a great asset and this should not happen to them or anyone else,” said Nisar Afzal who has been vindicated and gotten relief from the anti-corruption court.