FACT SHEET

Land grabbing by the Military

 

Released by PML (N) Secretary Information Muhammed Siddique-ul-Farooque
at a press conference held on May 17, 2003 at PML (N) Camp Office, Islamabad

 One of the anti-people measures that the present military rulers adopted soon after toppling the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999 was the expansion of their land grabbing operations that they had already institutionalized during previous military regimes.  Those regimes had authorized unbelievable perks for serving and retired military officers, including fifty acres of valuable agricultural land for every general promoted from the rank of major general.

 

The Musharraf regime is not content with that.  It has been trying to grab more land in the most fertile areas of Punjab, particularly in Okara, Pirowal and Khanewal areas.  This fact sheet is designed to prove that the current campaign of dislodging tenants from military farms is totally illegal, unauthorized, tyrannical and in violation of the directives of an elected Prime Minister.

 

No legal right

Punjab Board of Revenue had leased out large tracts of agricultural land, tilled by tenants and their forefathers for over 80 years, to military farms and other organizations like Punjab Seed Corporation.  The leases have already expired, but the military instead of vacating the land, have publicly claimed the ownership of these lands.  The military authorities have been pressing the Board of Revenue from time to time to transfer the ownership of these lands to the military.  The latest move for the permanent transfer of over 20,000 acres of land in Okara and Lahore was made by Ministry of Defense in its letter dated February 1, 2000 – just three months after the Musharraf coup. The Board refused to do that in its letter dated April 13, 2001.

 

Prime Minister’s Orders

These moves were in direct violation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s orders.  He had decided in 1999 to grant ownership of these lands to the farmers already tilling them as tenants of the provincial government.  The decision was in line of his policy to revolutionize agriculture with empowering small farmers.  He had already distributed 160 thousand acres of governmemnt lands among the landless haris of Sindh, and in August 1999 he ordered to transfer the land under military control in Okara to the sitting tenants.  This order, like other beneficial measures of Nawaz Sharif, including the seven marla scheme, Apna Ghar Project, remission of HBFC loans for widows and orphans and the free treatment centers for kidney patients, was overturned by the Musharraf regime.

 

False promises by Musharraf

Ironically, General Musharraf himself promised at a public meeting at Faisalabad that state lands would be distributed among sitting tenants. He made the promise in order to secure voter support in his illegal referendum of April 2001. Musharraf’s present defense minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal made the same promise when he was running for election from Okara.  All these promises were false and mere deception, because the military operation to forcefully grab the Okara lands had already been launched as is evident from correspondence between military and the Board of Revenue.

 

Attempt to end tenancy

In June 2000, the administration of Okara Military Farms – the largest of the many state farms spread over 17,000 acres told the tenants that they would no longer be considered as tenants, but instead would have to sign limited-year contracts.  They were required to pay cash rent to military authorities instead of harvest shares.  The tenants refused, because they knew that while tenancy laws protected them from eviction they could be sacked any time as contract workers.  The contract form that they were asked to sign banned personal use of trees and soil of the land, bound the contractor to loyal obedience to the military officers, and made the contractor responsible for preventing crimes.  The slightest breach of the contract would lead to its cancellation.

 

It must be noted here that while the elected Prime Minister made the poor peasants owners of property General Musharraf is turning the tenants into slaves.  Nawaz Sharif provided them with means to earn their living, but Musharraf is depriving them of their livelihood.

 

Reign of Terror

The refusal of the tenants to sign on their death warrants led to launching of a reign of terror by the military authorities.  The tenants organized themselves under the banner of Anjuman Muzarain Punjab, and their peaceful protest spread to Pirowal and Khanewal.  The military responded with unprecedented violence to intimidate the tenants.

 

 In January 2002, Bashir Ahmed was shot and killed on the orders of Deputy Director Renal Military Farms.

 

In May 2002, two tenants were killed in Dipalpur and Pirowal.

 

Next month, a man and a woman in Pirowal died after facing continuous siege by police.

 

On July 9, 2002, Rangers Director General Hussain Mehdi called 105 representatives of the tenants for talks but threatened them that if they did not sign contract forms, they would be taken to the border and shot dead as RAW agents. 

 

In August 2002, a man in Okara was killed by police torture in custody, because the police had been directed to force tenants sign Theka deeds at all costs.

 

The military authorities have set up private jails in collusion with rangers and police where tenants are forced to sign contracts.  About 1700 FIRs have been registered with false criminal charges against the tenants and their family members. School going girls are picked up by military authorities forcing them to ask their parents yield to the military demands.  Electricity and water supply to many villages has been cut off to add to the misery of the poor people.

 

Grand Feudal Design

All these measures are part of a grand design of land grabbing and aligning the military with feudal elite of the country.  A large number of serving and retired military officers have been allotted agricultural lands in southern Sindh and Punjab over the years under the pretext of security of the border areas.  This is in addition to other unprecedented privileges institutionalized by successive military regimes.  Prime Minister Junejo tried to curtail this trend with cutting down defense expenditure and tried to put generals and admirals in small Suzuki cars in place of more luxurious Toyotas, and General Zia promptly sacked him.  Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reserved state land for landless tenants and slum dwellers, distributed 160,000 acres out of it among Haris, and General Musharraf staged his coup.

 

The current campaign to acquire permanent ownership of leased agricultural land by the military has no other motive than to ultimately parcel out these valuable lands to the military officers for personal use.  The total area under lease to military farms in various districts of Punjab amounts to 166,204 acres.  The argument that military control over this area is necessary due to proximity with the border does not hold good except 1,450 acres lying in the district of Kasur. In fact, like the posh defense housing societies in major cities, the military farms set up on leased lands have no relation to the defense of the country.

 

The armed forces, collectively and individually, have emerged as a feudal power with large land holdings, and they persist to usurp land through seemingly institutionalized means.  It may not be a coincidence that most Musharraf supporters in national, provincial and district assemblies represent feudal families.  The administrators of military farms have also sought feudal support in their current land grabbing campaign.  For instance, director general of Pakistan Rangers, who has the rank of a major general, has been reported to have publicly warned the landed aristocracy with the suggestion that their tenants would also be encouraged to agitate for ownership rights if the military farms tenants were allowed proprietorship.

 

Tarnishing Image of Armed Forces

It is time that saner elements both in the civil society and the armed forces should take notice of this situation that not only is affecting the professional efficiency of the armed forces, but also tarnishing its image.  It is no service to the nation and its security that the armed forces be deemed as a land grabbing mafia trampling the rights of poor peasants.  It would also be a grave setback to agricultural economy of the country.

 

Pakistan Muslim League (N) is presenting these facts before the people with the sole purpose of protecting the dignity and honor of the Armed Forces.  It is our mission to revive the image of the armed forces as defense service.  Their only task is to defend the borders of the country and dedicate all their energy and capability to this end.  Running agricultural farms, industrial units, banks and other financial organizations or business concerns does fall in their domain.  Knowledgeable people are aware of the fact that rampant mismanagement and corruption is found in the Army Welfare Trust, Fauji Foundation, industrial units and the military farms.

 

The armed forces, as well as the nation, have suffered not only huge financial loss, but also disgrace at the hand of a mafia of serving and retired military officers indulging in land grabbing and other business activities that have no relation with the defense of the country.  The excuse that military farms are needed to provide fodder form the animals owned by the military is untenable.  The fodder can be purchased through contractors like other commodities needed for the armed forces.

 

We demand…

 

In pursuance of our mission to restore the image of the armed forces, we demand that all generals and other officers of the armed forces and Pakistan Rangers involved in land grabbing be tried for tarnishing the reputation of the armed forces in the eyes of the nation as well as the world community.  There crime is all the more serious because their activities are creating hatred between the people and the armed forces that might lead to conflict.

 

We demand that the FIRs registered against tenants be scrapped, police pickets around tenant villages by removed and all measures to dislodge the tenants from their lands be stopped within 24 hours.

 

We demand that the August 1999 orders of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to grant proprietary rights to the tenants of military farms be implemented forthwith.

 

We demand that a high level impartial inquiry committee, enjoying the confidence of the Parliament and general public, be formed immediately to probe into land allotment to serving and retired military officers and all the businesses and industries run by the armed forces under various trusts and institutions including the military farms, and the findings of the committee be made public within three months.