LAHORE: The land of Walton airport, evaluated to be worth Rs 350 billion or more, has been sold against the written rules and regulations of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) in exchange for rural land in Muridke and Rs 50 billion, The Scoop has learnt.
In a letter addressed to Federal Minister of Aviation Khawaja Muhammad Asif by Capt. Wg Cdr (Rtd) Muhammad Nawaz Asim, General Secretary of the Aircraft Owners and Operators Association (AOOA), titled “Waltongate: A Corruption Unlimited,” it was stated that the sale of Walton Airport land in Lahore is a perfect case of violation of rules, regulations, and procedures. Asim claimed that the worst part is that out of Rs 50 billion, only Rs one billion has been received in the accounts of PCAA.
He asked in his letter, “Where has the rest of the money gone? Who is the beneficiary, and who has been used as a rubber stamp to facilitate such corruption?”
In his letter, a copy of which is available with The Scoop, he pointed out that prima facie, the national asset and valuable historical airport has been destroyed by land mafias colluding with the DG CAA and government officials.
“The destruction of the national asset where Quaid-e-Azam landed in 1947 is a clear case of systematic collapse through the greed of a few,” he stated.
This Walton gate scandal is a symbol of malfeasance on the part of CAA officials, and it highlights how the aviation industry is being ruined, as Walton Airport was a hub of General Aviation in Pakistan, requiring judicial intervention and a NAB investigation.
Sources privy to this development confirmed to The Scoop that copies of this letter had reached the Chairman of SIFC, Chairman NAB, DG FIA, Senate Committee on Aviation, making it a litmus test for the Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government and Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif.
