Walton Airport land deal: AGP detects major irregularities

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has detected major irregularities in the sale and transfer of Walton Airport land in Lahore to the Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA).

According to the AGP report, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) exceeded federal cabinet approval and transferred an additional 23.8 acres of land to the PCBDDA.

“The cabinet had approved the transfer of 52 acres in 2021; however, the CAA transferred 76 acres instead. The additional land was commercial in nature and was subsequently sold by the PCBDDA for over Rs57 billion,” the report revealed.

The audit noted that possession of the land was handed over in January 2022, while a formal agreement between the two sides was signed a year later, in 2023.

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It said that the additional transfer was executed with the approval of the Board of Revenue and by informing the cabinet secretariat, but the matter was never placed before the CAA board.

In its response, the CAA said the cabinet secretariat had been informed before the transfer. However, the AGP termed the explanation unsatisfactory, stressing that the CAA had no authority to transfer land ownership or possession without explicit federal approval.

The AGP recommended a full inquiry to determine responsibility.

Efforts were made to obtain the version of the Pakistan Airports Authority and the CAA, but no response was received till the filing of this report.

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In 2024, the Aircraft Owners and Operators Association Pakistan (AOOAP) called for a thorough inquiry into the sale of Walton Airport land, alleging that rules and regulations had been flouted.

“The sale of the land is a perfect case of violation of rules and regulations, and was carried out through deception,” the association said in a letter to the ministries of aviation and defence.

The AOOAP general secretary, retired wing commander Muhammad Nawaz Asim, had claimed the land was worth over Rs350 billion but was sold in violation of regulations.

“The most alarming aspect is that out of Rs50 billion (the sold amount), only Rs1 billion has been received in the accounts of the CAA. Where has the rest of the money gone? Who is the beneficiary, and who was used as a rubber stamp to facilitate such corruption?” the letter asked.

It alleged that a national asset had been compromised by land mafias in collusion with the CAA’s director general and other government officials.

The CAA and PCBDDA, however, rejected the association’s claims, terming them false and baseless.

They maintained that the transfer was a government-to-government transaction approved by both the federal and provincial cabinets in 2021.

It is worth mentioning that at the time of the land transfer, Khakan Murtaza was serving as the CAA director general.