Islamabad, April 21 (IANS) Cases are being registered against local landowners in Pakistan's Punjab province over alleged obstruction of official work in connection with gold extraction in Attock, local media reported on Tuesday.

This has triggered a heated exchange in the Provincial Assembly and has drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition over revenue transparency, local media reported.

The controversy erupted after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader and Attock MPA Qazi Ahmed Akbar had moved an adjournment motion in the Assembly, seeking details about the revenue earned from the gold. He also raised concerns over cases being registered against the landowners instead of paying them due royalties.

Speaking to a leading Pakistani daily, Dawn, Qazi said that the landowners were being booked in cases for "creating obstructions in the government duty" rather than ensuring that the mine leaseholders pay them the royalties.

Responding to this, Punjab Minister for Mines and Minerals Sher Ali Gorchani stated that the province's assets belong to its people and that the government would present the ground realities of the find to the nation, even though Qazi claims otherwise.

The Minister hit back at the Opposition, asserting that the Punjab government would not allow the kind of "looting and plunder" seen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to occur in Punjab. He claimed strict measures were being taken regarding this under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, while also accusing the Opposition and the KP government of corruption.

As both sides traded barbs at each other, the atmosphere turned tense when opposition member Mian Asif Ali Bagga sarcastically remarked, "No one is allowed to steal except Maryam Nawaz."

Deputy Secretary Zaheer Iqbal Channar informed the House that the Mines and Minerals Department had already generated billions in revenue for the provincial government.

--IANS

scor/sd/