LAHORE: A special committee of the Punjab Assembly, chaired by MPA Samiullah Khan, came down hard on decades of government oversight failures after Lahore Gymkhana Club Chairman Salman Siddique conceded that the annual rent of Rs5,000 paid for over 100 acres of prime state land in the provincial capital was wholly inadequate.

Appearing before the committee alongside members of the club’s management, Mr Siddique expressed surprise at the nominal rate given the vast acreage involved and the club’s vastly improved financial footing. Contrasting the institution’s current financial standing with its constraints during the 1990s, he admitted that the club should be paying at least Rs10 million annually, while expressing willingness to cooperate with the ongoing inquiry and share records.

Committee members noted that this admission from the club’s own top leadership underscored the urgency of determining why successive state authorities allowed such a massive concession to persist without meaningful scrutiny. They stressed that the onus rested squarely on public institutions mandated to protect state land, enforce lease terms, and ensure transparent usage.

During the session, the member colonies of the board of revenue revealed that then chief minister Sardar Muhammad Arif Nakai, who was also a member of the club, had verbally directed the fixation of a token Rs5,000 annual rent for the lease extension in 1996, bypassing proper land valuation and relevant legal principles. Perturbed by how a mere verbal instruction could underpin such a major agreement, lawmakers demanded the complete documentary record detailing the legal authority and approval process behind the 1996 lease deed.

PA body constitutes fact-finding committee to frame specific queries, verify records, and present comprehensive report within 10 days

Emphasising that the land ultimately belongs to the people of Punjab, the committee was presented with estimates valuing the prime property between Rs76 billion and Rs218 billion. Members questioned the state’s failure to secure a fair public return on an asset of this scale and firmly rejected any notion that the club’s internal corporate governance shielded it from state oversight, maintaining that institutional autonomy cannot supersede accountability for public property.

Touching upon structural approvals, Mr Siddique affirmed that while the club fulfills its corporate and tax obligations under the Companies Act 2017, he has struggled to locate internal records regarding official building sanctions.

In response, lawmakers called for strict verification of sanctioned building plans, statutory permissions, and compliance with lease terms, raising safety concerns over structures lacking documented approvals.

On the issue of an independent state audit, Mr Siddique noted that the matter remains pending before the Supreme Court and assured adherence to its eventual verdict, a position echoed by management committee member Tasneem Noorani.

The panel also explored proposals aimed at broader public utility, such as opening the club’s cricket ground to the general public or relocating the facility near the Ring Road, while questioning why public funds were ever spent on an exclusive recreational club occupying state land.

To take the probe forward, the committee directed the Lahore Development Authority, Parks and Horticulture Authority, Federal Board of Revenue, and other relevant bodies to submit detailed jurisdictional reports.

Furthermore, a fact-finding committee headed by the Advocate General Punjab, comprising officials from the Board of Revenue, Metropolitan Corporation Lahore, Law department, Agriculture department, and the deputy commissioner, had been assigned to frame specific queries, verify records, and present a comprehensive report within ten days.

Concluding the session, the chairperson directed that legal questions stemming from the proceedings be forwarded to the high-powered Law Reforms Committee, headed by Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, for joint deliberations aimed at fixing responsibility for oversight lapses and ensuring the lawful use of public land.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026

ISLAMABAD: Failure to address the underlying disputes that engender crises between Pakistan and India could lead to more dangerous confrontations in the future, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee warned on Wednesday.

“Terminating a crisis without addressing its root causes only sets the stage for the next, more dangerous conflict,” retired Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat said at the concluding session of the second Islamabad Non-Proliferation Conference, organised by the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI).

Ex-CJCSC warns against ignoring Kashmir dispute, Indus treaty suspension

He said that in the subcontinent, the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir could not be wished away or reduced to an administrative matter. “Similarly, water cannot be converted from a shared necessity into an instrument of power and pressure,” he said while stressing the need for resolution of the Kashmir dispute and restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty.

Gen Hayat warned that repeated crises between the nuclear-armed neighbours could become increasingly dangerous if unresolved disputes, diminishing restraint and the absence of sustained political dialogue continued to undermine regional security.

Referring to the May 2025 conflict, he said Pakistan had demonstrated its military capabilities and political control through a calibrated response that denied India a unilateral fait accompli without pursuing an unlimited war.

“The larger lesson is not that conflict between two nuclear-armed neighbours can be made routine; it is that there is no tested and certified safe space for war,” he said, warning that future crises would involve different leaders, emerging technologies and shorter decision-making timelines, heightening the risk of miscalculation.

He said South Asia lacked an inclusive regional security framework, effective crisis-management mechanisms and sustained political dialogue. “The region lives between deterrence that prevents the worst and disputes that repeatedly regenerate danger,” he said.

Gen Hayat warned unverified allegations could trigger conflict before the facts were established, with a future confrontation potentially arising from an accident rather than a deliberate state decision. He cited the continuing Operation Sindoor in this context.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026

• Demands reversal of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emergency measures, release of political prisoners and Imran’s access to his personal physicians
• Claims party’s ‘popularity’ still intact despite ‘coercion’

ISLAMABAD: The PTI on Wednesday called on the government to take confidence-building measures (CBMs) to pave the way for meaningful dialogue, demanding the reversal of what it described as “unlawful” measures, restoration of its provincial government’s mandate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and release of political prisoners.

In a statement, PTI Central Infor­mation Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said meaningful negotiations required concrete action rather than political statements. “If the government was genuinely serious about dialogue, it should take steps to build trust,” he added.

Mr Akram demanded the reversal of measures the party considered unlawful, restoration of its provincial government’s mandate and release of political prisoners whose continued detention, he said, could not be legally justified.

He also called for the protection of PTI founder Imran Khan’s constitutional and fundamental rights, including lawful meetings with his lawyers and family, fair and timely proceedings in his and his wife’s cases, and medical treatment under the supervision of his personal physicians in accordance with applicable court orders.

Mr Akram condemned raids on homes, detentions and pressure on elected representatives and party workers in Punjab and KP, alleging that these actions were intended to intimidate political opponents.

PTI’s ‘popularity’

Rejecting Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s remarks about the party’s political standing, Mr Akram challenged all ruling coalition parties to contest elections against the PTI under a single banner. He said they would suffer a “crushing defeat in a free and fair contest, even today”.

On Tuesday, Mr Tarar had said a formal ban on the PTI was no longer needed after the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in KP, arguing that the party had “lost po­­w­er” in the province because of security and counterterrorism failures.

Mr Akram said the government’s use of “coercive measures and political pressure” had failed to diminish the PTI’s public support. He described the party as Pakistan’s “leading federal political force” and its founder, Imran Khan, as the “only leader enjoying widespread public support across the country”.

Rejecting governor’s rule and the emergency in KP, he described the measures as an “attempt to undermine the province’s electoral mandate”. He said the party’s strength stemmed from its connection with the people rather than its control of government offices.

He added that no “handpicked administration should be allowed to dictate” the political future of around 50 million residents without respecting their democratic choices and constitutional rights.

Mr Akram insisted that decisions concerning the province’s governance, resources, and future must involve its elected representatives and local population.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026