ISLAMABAD: An extensive investigation into the Islamabad Cooperative Housing Society (ICHS) scandal has uncovered what officials are calling one of the largest housing frauds in Pakistan’s history. Nearly 36,000 plot files are said to have been issued illegally, despite the society’s land holdings being insufficient to accommodate such a number.
Insiders familiar with the ongoing probe conducted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Rawalpindi-Islamabad have informed The News that the society’s approved Layout Plan (LOP) and available land bank permitted the issuance of roughly 6,000 files. However, former officials and alleged facilitators are accused of distributing approximately 42,000 files, creating a vast discrepancy between the land resources and the number of plots claimed.
Investigators have identified that around 36,000 of these files are either illegitimate, excessive, or unsupported by the society’s land assets, raising serious concerns about potential fraud, mismanagement, and abuse of authority spanning several years. The inquiry has also revealed that complete records of payments and allotments for many files are either missing or inaccessible. It is alleged that numerous citizens were sold plot files for land that either did not exist, lacked proper legal approval, or was improperly documented.
The significant gap between the land bank and the number of issued files suggests a systematic use of fake, duplicate, and excessive files to fraudulently extract billions of rupees from the public. So far, investigators have uncovered financial irregularities exceeding Rs16 billion, though officials believe this figure could grow as they continue examining financial records and transactions.
NAB officials confirmed that seven individuals linked to the previous management and a land dealing firm have been detained in connection with the case. Among those in custody are former Secretary General Mehdi Khan Shakir, former Treasurer Malik Muhammad Nawaz, ex-Executive Member Muhammad Arshad, and four persons associated with Land Stock Dealing Point Company Munir Akhtar, Ali Mahmood, Yameen Malik, and Ghulam Jillani.
Meanwhile, the Accountability Court in Islamabad has granted NAB a seven-day physical remand of the suspects to facilitate further investigations, including evidence recovery, financial trail tracing, and identifying additional facilitators involved in the scam.
Sources familiar with the case indicated that the investigation may expand further as authorities scrutinize the roles of other individuals connected to the society’s administration, land management, and financial dealings. Multiple teams are working on different aspects of the case to ensure swift progress, and more arrests are expected as the probe advances.
