FIA Summons ETPB Officials in Supreme Court-Linked Anti-Corruption Probe

By Ali Imran Chattha | Nazrana Times | Lahore, July 16

In a dramatic escalation of the nationwide accountability drive, the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Corruption Circle Karachi has issued urgent summons to senior officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) as part of a Supreme Court-monitored probe into alleged massive irregularities involving the sale, lease, and encroachment of ETPB properties.

The inquiry—launched under the Supreme Court's directives via Civil Miscellaneous Applications (CMAs) No. 4824/2018, 1507/2021, and Suo Motu Case No. 1/2014—is aimed at exposing a potentially deep-rooted nexus between land mafia operators and officials within the ETPB. Allegations include illegal allotments and the unlawful occupation of minority-owned land across Karachi.

In an official notice dated July 2, 2025, the FIA Karachi office summoned two senior ETPB officials to appear before Enquiry Officer Inspector Shahid Hussain on July 7 at 11:00 AM at FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle located at Barrack No. 46-A, Pakistan Secretariat, Saddar, Karachi.

Those summoned include:

Asif Khan, Administrator South Zone, instructed to present documents regarding an open plot (Survey No. 187, 1200 square yards) in Deh Okewari, Evacuee Society, Karachi.

Hassan Imtiaz, Deputy Secretary (Property), required to produce approvals concerning Plot No. JM-492 in Jamshed Quarters.

The letter categorically states that the matter is of the "most urgent" nature and directly tied to ongoing Supreme Court proceedings. Copies have been sent to the Registrar of the One-Man Commission in Islamabad and the FIA's designated Enquiry Officer.

But the twist came when both summoned officials did not appear personally. Instead, Deputy Secretary (Administration) of ETPB appeared on their behalf and submitted the department’s official position.

According to sources within the inquiry, the Deputy Secretary maintained that the ETPB is operating under a strict zero-tolerance policy on corruption, in line with government instructions. “We are fully cooperating,” he stated, “and actions against any corrupt individuals are already underway.”

He also presented detailed documentation outlining all actions taken to date and confirmed that the attendance of the summoned officers has been ensured. The FIA inquiry team, however, is understood to have demanded further records and explanations about questionable approvals and land transactions in key locations.

Insiders revealed that the case is being closely watched by senior authorities, including Shoaib Suddle, head of the Supreme Court-appointed One-Man Commission on Minority Rights, who has been kept in the loop about all developments.

“The scope of this probe could widen,” a senior FIA source told Nazrana Time. “What we’re looking at isn’t just administrative negligence—it could potentially be a multi-city operation involving systematic misuse of properties belonging to Pakistan’s minority communities.”

With prime land worth billions under scrutiny and files under forensic review, the case may soon uncover what one investigator called “decades of silence, now breaking wide open.”