MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Ehtesab Bureau has arrested Zahid Amin, a former chairman of the Development Authority Muzaffarabad (DAM) and a prominent critic of AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, on grounds of ‘non-cooperation in ongoing investigations’.

“The AJK Ehtesab Bureau took Mr Amin into custody under the Ehtesab Act, transferring him to a safe house in the Thoori neighbourhood,” confirmed a bureau official. A family member said that Mr Amin was detained while en route to a funeral on Bank Road.

A bureau spokesperson, speaking anonymously, said a complaint was pending against DAM officials regarding alleged fraudulent plot allotments and misappropriation of funds.

Mr Amin had been asked to record a statement but reportedly did not comply, prompting the arrest, the spokesperson said, but declined to share further details, citing concerns that disclosure could benefit other suspects.

Mr Amin, a prominent figure in Muzaffarabad politics, served three terms as DAM chairman under various administrations. First appointed in February 1993 under the Muslim Conference (MC) government of Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, he held the position until June 1996. After the 2005 earthquake, he assumed the role of administrator of Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad under the MC government led by Sardar Sikandar Hayat. He was again appointed DAM chairman in November 2006 under the Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan-led MC government. Over the next 26 months, he openly opposed alleged plans to relocate AJK’s capital from Muzaffarabad and strongly advocated for post-earthquake reconstruction as committed to the residents.

His last tenure as DAM chairman was from July 2010 to May 2011 under Raja Farooq Haider’s MC government. Under the subsequent PML-N government led by Mr Haider, Mr Amin was appointed chairman of the Prime Minister’s Inspection and Implementation Commission.

Notably, in October 2022, Mr Amin had requested an anti-corruption probe into the purchase of 27 buses by the AJK Higher Education Department, allegedly at the behest of then-Minister Waqar Noor, now the senior minister in the current coalition government.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024