Lahore: The Punjab government has directed the officials concerned to identify all benami property transactions in the province by September 30, a news source reported. This directive was relayed during a meeting of the Provincial Anti-Benami Committee at the Civil Secretariat. A warning was issued to all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners that they will be held accountable in case a benami property surfaces after the deadline.
Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat and Chief Secretary Yousaf Nasim Khokhar asked all the commissioners and deputy commissioners to submit progress reports along with details of the issues they faced during the process within the next two days.
Senior officials of the federal government explained the process of benami property identification to the attendees. They clarified that the commissioners were only authorised to undertake the identification task, whereas the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would conduct the investigation process. Moreover, the FBR officials gave details of the Benami Act.
In response, Law Minister Raja Basharat suggested that the authorities concerned should generate public support to facilitate this measure through advertisement campaigns.
