ISLAMABAD – The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has uncovered what is being termed as “Pakistan’s one of the largest housing society scams” in Islamabad.
Reports said investigators probing the Islamabad Cooperative Housing Society (ICHS) scandal found that the society allegedly issued around 36,000 plot files illegally, far exceeding the land available for allocation.
Official investigations by the NAB Rawalpindi and NAB Islamabad revealed that the society’s approved layout and land bank could accommodate only about 6,000 plots.
However, the society issued approximately 42,000 files, creating a massive discrepancy between the available land and allotted plots.
So far, around 36,000 files have been declared illegal, excess, or unbacked by land, raising serious concerns about years of mismanagement, fraud, and abuse of authority, local media revealed in a report.
Investigators also found that records of payments and allocations for thousands of files are incomplete or missing entirely.
Many citizens were allegedly sold plot files for land that either did not exist, lacked legal approval, or was never formally documented.
This suggests a coordinated effort to sell fake, duplicate, or excess files, reportedly defrauding the public of billions of rupees.
So far, investigations have revealed financial irregularities exceeding Rs16 billion, with authorities warning the amount could rise as more financial records are being examined.
Seven suspects have been arrested, including former Secretary General Mehdi Khan Shakir, former Treasurer Malik Muhammad Nawaz, former Executive Member Muhammad Arshad, and four individuals linked to Land Stock Dealing Point Company: Munir Akhtar, Ali Mahmood, Yamin Malik, and Ghulam Jilani.
The Islamabad Accountability Court has granted NAB a seven-day physical remand to recover documents, investigate financial transactions, and identify other facilitators.
Authorities indicated that the case may expand as investigation teams continue to examine the roles of additional society officials, land administrators, and financial actors, with further arrests expected as inquiries progress.
