ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau decided on Wednesday to file next week a reference against alleged corruption in a highway project completed in 2013 in Gujar Khan, the constituency of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.
The draft reference does not mention the name of the ex-prime minister, but he and officials of Pakistan Public Development Works (Pak-PWD) are accused in the case.
NAB spokesman Mohammad Irfan said that a meeting of the bureau’s executive board had “decided to file a corruption reference against Shah Din Sheikh, Chief Engineer (North) Pak-PWD, Islamabad, and others for misuse of authority, corruption and corrupt practices in the award of contract and execution of work in NA-51”.
Draft reference does not mention the name of the ex-prime minister, but he and officials of (Pak-PWD) are accused in the case
A source in Pak-PWD said that more than 200 projects, including Mandra-Chakwal Road (Rs2.7bn) and Sohawa-Chakwal Road (Rs3.3bn), were launched in NA-51 and all of them were being investigated by NAB.
The investigation was started on the orders of the Supreme Court because Mr Ashraf had been accused of illegally allocating Rs52bn development funds during his nine-month tenure as prime minister.
It is learnt that Rs22bn was earmarked for MNAs / MPAs / notables under People’s Work Programme-II and Rs25bn allocated under the prime minister’s ‘discretion’.
The NAB board approved a Rs120.9m Voluntary Return application submitted by Sardar Mohammad Ashraf, contractor of the Capital Development Authority. He was accused of committing corruption in construction of IJP Road from Pirwadhai inter-section to Faizabad interchange.
The board authorised an inquiry against the chairman of the Punjab Privatisation Board and others for misuse of authority and misappropriation of public property causing losses of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
It also approved an investigation against Azhar Jaferri, former chairman of the Sindh Engineering (Pvt) Limited, Karachi. He is accused of misusing authority and causing a loss of Rs15.8m to the exchequer by reducing the prices of imported Dong Feng vehicles to dispose of long used / held-up stocks.
The board also authorised an inquiry against Massod Alam Niazi, Deputy Managing Director, Utility Stores Corporation, for accumulating assets beyond his known sources of income.
It approved an inquiry against Akhlaq Ahmed Khattak, Director, Customs Department, Peshawar, for accumulating wealth beyond his known sources of income.
The board authorised a Complaint Verification against former MNA Shafqat Shah Shirazi and former MPA Ejaz Shah Shirazi. They are accused of committing corruption, misusing authority and accumulating assets beyond their known sources of income.
It approved verification of a complaint against Javed Pervez, CEO of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company, and others.
Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014
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