RAHIM YAR KHAN, Aug 2: Hundreds of small farmers of Bhong in Sadiqabad tehsil are struggling to retain their land they had purchased from influential landlords three decades ago.

Located some 26kms from Sadiqabad, Bhong is known for its beautiful mosque built by Rais Ghazi. The mosque is recognized not only in Pakistan but also all over the world for its exquisite architecture.

Its five mouzas - Bhong, Shabbir Ahmedabad, Wazir Ahmedabad, Noor Ahmedabad and Garhi Daho Daho cover almost 10km area. The main Sardar owns thousands of acres of land in these five mouzas.

By virtue of agriculture reforms of the Ayub Khan regime in the 60s and the Bhutto regime in the 70s, almost 2,000 acres of agriculture land of Rais Ghazi had been transferred to tenants.

Rais Ghazi who died in 1975 had three wives. From the first wife, he had two sons - Rais Shabbir Ahmed and Rais Wazir Ahmed. After his death, Rais Shabbir Ahmed was declared Sardar, but he handed over the entire responsibility of agriculture matters to his younger brother.

Foreseeing more agriculture reforms in 1974-75, both the brothers with their mutual understanding had sold out some of their agriculture land to the poor people in four mouzas.

Around 1,000 acres of the agriculture land had been sold to some 300 people at the rate of Rs10,000 per acre. They were also given the possession as well. While most of the remaining agriculture land had been transferred to their heirs and relatives by the two brothers.

Haji Abdul Wahid Abbasi, the manager of Rais Shabbir Ahmed, had given the receipts of payments to the buyers. After that the poor people started cultivating the land and also built their houses.

In 1999, Rais Shabbir Ahmed and his younger brother mutually started transferring the agriculture land to the owners they had sold in 1974-75 and the transfer continued till 2001.

In Aug 2000, Rais Shabbir Ahmed and Rais Wazir Ahmed divided their agriculture land and orchards with mutual understanding in the presence of their managers Abdul Hameed Rabbani and Muhammad Sharif. This understanding remained effective for two years.

In the 2002 general elections, Rais Wazir Ahmed got the PML-Q ticket and Rais Munir Ahmed, the son of Rais Shabbir Ahmed, got the PPP ticket for NA-197 in which the latter succeeded.

According to sources, the first conflict between the two families surfaced after these elections, when Rais Munir Ahmed became the state minister for tourism, culture, sports and minority affairs by joining PPP (Patriots).

The issue hit the headlines when some farmers protested against Rais Munir on July 20 last month claiming that he was using his influence to occupy their lands. This correspondent then visited Bhong to know what was the problem.

Several owners from the Indher tribe of Mauza Bhong and Shabbir Ahmadabad, owners from the Kosh tribe of Wazir Ahmadabad and owners from the Chandia and Malik tribes of Noor Ahmadabad showed photocopies of transfer letters issued by the Revenue department.

They claimed that they had bought the agriculture land from Rais Shabbir Ahmad, Rais Wazir Ahmad and their manager late Haji Abdul Wahid Abbasi some 30 years ago. They said they had paid the money for the land and got the possession also. They also showed the 30-year-old receipts of payments.

On their persistent demand, they said Rais Shabbir Ahmad and Rais Wazir Ahmad had transferred the land to them and their family members between 1999 and 2001. Afterwards, they said a conflict developed between Rais Munir Ahmad and his uncle Rais Wazir Ahmad.

Then Rais Munir filed a petition in the court of Sadiqabad deputy district officer (revenue) by using fake special power of attorney. He also tried to exert political pressure on the DDO (R) to cancel the transfer of agriculture land.

The DDO (R) contacted the former owners of the agriculture land who presented affidavits in the court disowning any special power of attorney to Rais Munir Ahmad. They also informed the court that they had not challenged the transfer.

The former owners, include a daughter of Rais Shabbir Ahmad, also deposed before the court that they had not filed petitions in this respect and, therefore, these should be cancelled. On that grounds, the court cancelled all such petitions.

The farmers also said that Rais Munir had got registered five false cases against them and Rais Wazir and other people of the Sadiqabad tehsil. At this, they said around 150 policemen of Bhong police station had raided 15 villages of the four mouzas to arrest and harass their people.

They claimed that several people were detained for eight months and tortured during captivity. The farmers claimed that all the cases had proved false when the police crime branch, Lahore, investigated the matter.

They alleged that Bhong SHO Afzal Gill often harassed them at the beck and call of the state minister and took our people to the police station. They said that they had to get them released after paying heavy bribes.

A man on the condition of anonymity said that Rais Munir Ahmad had two of his men appointed to Bhong post office for keeping the farmers in the dark about cases against them.

The victims of Mauza Wazir Ahmadabad and Noor Ahmadabad said that they would prefer to die than to return their land. When contacted, Rais Wazir Ahmad said although there was a family conflict, he wanted that the people of his area should not be deprived of their just rights. "I am with the poor people", he said.

The Bhong SHO was not available when this correspondent went to the police station to get his version about the police violence on farmers. Sardar Zafar Iqbal Tareen, the legal adviser and spokesman of Rais Munir Ahmed, claimed that the people who protested against Rais Munir in front of the DPO office were servants of Rais Wazir Ahmed, who was our political opponent.

He claimed that Rais Munir Ahmed had no land in his name and some 106 pending cases regarding special power of attorney were under process in the court of civil judges Ijaz Ahmed Butt and Jahangir in Sadiqabad.

Mr Tareen said that Rais Wazir was found guilty in an FIR registered by Rais Munir which was investigated by an AIG, an SSP and four DSPs of Lahore. He said that the land owners should move court if they had any complaints against Rais Munir Ahmed.