Islamabad: Pakistani Army Generals have emerged as the country's new land barons controlling a whopping 12 million acres of prime agricultural land worth over Rs 700 bn, according to a media report.
According to estimates, Army controls 12 per cent of state land, out of which 62 per cent falls in Punjab, the agriculturally richest of Pakistan's four provinces, Newsline magazine reported.
President General Pervez Musharraf himself had six properties, which include 2,000 sq yards of land in Defence Society, Karachi, a 1,200 sq yards plot in Morgah Rawalpindi, a 900 sq yards plots in Peshwar, two sq yards in Bahawlpur, 600 sq yards in Eastridge and 1,200 sq yards in Gwadar, it said.
The country continues with the British tradition of rewarding military personnel with the land allotments.
An Army General retires with hundreds of prime agricultural land besides urban plots in different cities, the report said.
"According to an assessment based on the value of rural and urban plots the worth of a General in the Army in real estate terms is anything from a hefty Rs 150 to 400 mn and that is a conservative estimate," it said.
However, Defence Spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan denied that army has emerged as a major real estate player.
"Military personnel who have become members of the army run housing societies and acquire them through payment made through instalments collected from the salaries," he said.
Comments
0 comment