Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri has auctioned a building owned by the ministry to his business partner.
According to a report by Umar Cheema published in The News, the Ramna Building, spanning over almost four Kanals, is located in the G-6 Markaz. It was in use of the Ministry of Religious Affairs until recently when it shifted to a new building. Once it fell vacant, the ministry decided to auction the Ramna Building.
Instead of auctioning the entire building, for better revenue, it was decided to auction the building floor by floor. And in auction of both the floors, the winner was Nouman Khan, the partner in all businesses owned by the federal minister.
According the report, “the minister has a chain of Cash and Carry stores by the name of Gelani Mart having branches in Rawalpindi, Taxila, Wah, Abbottabad and Peshawar. His export-and-import business is run through a company, Gelani Trading. Nouman is a partner of the minister in all the above-mentioned businesses.”
The report further revealed that the federal minister didn’t unveil this conflict of interest when contacted for his stance. Noorul Haq said Nouman is from his native Khyber District but when further pressed, he acknowledged that Nouman is his business partner. “We have a 70-30 partnership; I hold 70 percent share and Nouman has 30 percent in our joint ventures,” the minister told The News.
A competitor, Muhammad Azizullah has lodged a complaint with the ministry that he was not allowed to participate in the bidding process despite fulfilling all the formalities. He said that he was not allowed to participate in the bid and tricked out of office instead. In an application written to the Secretary Religious Affairs, Azizullah explained in detail how his bank draft was not accepted by the ministry’s officials.
According to a report by Umar Cheema published in The News, the Ramna Building, spanning over almost four Kanals, is located in the G-6 Markaz. It was in use of the Ministry of Religious Affairs until recently when it shifted to a new building. Once it fell vacant, the ministry decided to auction the Ramna Building.
Instead of auctioning the entire building, for better revenue, it was decided to auction the building floor by floor. And in auction of both the floors, the winner was Nouman Khan, the partner in all businesses owned by the federal minister.
According the report, “the minister has a chain of Cash and Carry stores by the name of Gelani Mart having branches in Rawalpindi, Taxila, Wah, Abbottabad and Peshawar. His export-and-import business is run through a company, Gelani Trading. Nouman is a partner of the minister in all the above-mentioned businesses.”
The report further revealed that the federal minister didn’t unveil this conflict of interest when contacted for his stance. Noorul Haq said Nouman is from his native Khyber District but when further pressed, he acknowledged that Nouman is his business partner. “We have a 70-30 partnership; I hold 70 percent share and Nouman has 30 percent in our joint ventures,” the minister told The News.
A competitor, Muhammad Azizullah has lodged a complaint with the ministry that he was not allowed to participate in the bidding process despite fulfilling all the formalities. He said that he was not allowed to participate in the bid and tricked out of office instead. In an application written to the Secretary Religious Affairs, Azizullah explained in detail how his bank draft was not accepted by the ministry’s officials.