LAHORE: A judge granted the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) a two-day physical remand of former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Dost Mazari in a land-related case on Sunday. Mr Mazari was detained by the Punjab ACE for illegally allotting 2,500 kanals in Rajanpur. According to an ACE spokesperson, Mr Mazari was told twice or three times to attend the hearing of the illegal land allocation case, but he did not appear before the investigative team.

According to Dawn.com, the ACE presented Mazari in court and demanded his physical remand to conclude the investigation, which the judge granted. On Tuesday, he will be brought before the court.

Outside the court, Mr Mazari said he was being “victimised for standing by the “constitution”. Following his arrest on Saturday, his lawyer, Usama Khawar Ghumman, stated that the ACE had overstepped its jurisdiction.

According to a Punjab ACE official, 8,175 kanals were retrieved from Mr Mazari in Rojhan.

According to a report by the Rojhan assistant commissioner, Mazari occupied 40,000 government acres in 2019, which were later retrieved. Mr Mazari, however, launched an armed attack, forcibly seized government documents, retained all revenue paperwork with him, and took over acres in various locations.

According to the handout, fraudulent records were also made, but the ACE confiscated and submitted them to court. Other official documents would be seized from Mazari during his remand, according to the handout.

The ACE had earlier this month summoned 10 people, including Mazari, in the case.

Others involved in the case included the Rujhan AC, area patwari, Zahid Mazari, Sher Muhammad Mazari , Manoj Kumar, and officials of Border Military Police Kashif and Fahad.

According to sources, Manoj Kumar of Kashmore, Sindh, filed the lawsuit. He claimed that he was threatened because he was attempting to take ownership of state land whose lease he had obtained.

PML-N Vice President Hamza Shehbaz, however, condemned the arrest of Mr Mazari, who ditched his party, PTI, during the no-confidence motion against Mr Shehhbaz. He said Mr Mazari was detained by the Punjab government in a fabricated case at the direction of PTI Chairman Imran Khan Niazi. He said at a crucial political juncture, Dost Mazari preferred being on the right side of history, for which he is being penalised.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2022