PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is always at the forefront whenever a financial scam is unearthed against its political foes whether it is Panama Papers leak or any other scandal, but its government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has swept high-profile cases under the carpet.

From theft of millions of litres of crude oil from the main transmission line in Karak district to a financial mismanagement in the Bank of Khyber, these cases have been put in cold storage despite conducting high level inquiries.

The theft of crude oil from the MOL (Hungarian Oil Exploration Company) transmission line at Banda Daud Shah in Karak district came into the limelight when the issue was raised on the floor of the house in November 2014.

At that time the house was informed that crude oil worth Rs20 billion had been stolen from the main transmission line in Karak district.

Govt says Bank of Khyber case is a ‘dead horse’, accountability bodies should look into stealing of crude oil in Karak

Adviser to the chief minister on prison Malik Qasim, who belongs to Karak, said the crude oil used to be pumped into 20-25 tankers every night before its sale to the filling stations.

The assembly jointly demanded inquiry into it through the National Accountability Bureau and other investigation agencies and asked the government to submit report to its speaker.

A senior official of the energy and power department confided to Dawn that the Rs20 billion figure might have been exaggerated.

“The figure is around Rs10 billion,” he said.

Initially the case was referred to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which refused to take the case, said a notification issued by energy and power department. The bureau plea was that theft cases are not covered under the NAB Ordinance, 1999 and since the KP Police had lodged an FIR under PPC and ATA hence it may finalise its investigation under the relevant laws.

After registration of FIR under LF 228 and LF 209, the Banda Daud Shah Police nominated 15 persons including two Afghan nationals in the crude oil theft case. According to the concerned police station 14 people were arrested and handed them over to the Police’s Counter Terrorism Department.

An official said the arrested persons were daily wagers and tools like spades and shovels were recovered from them. Names of the arrested persons were Ziaur Rehman, Wakeel Khan, Mohammad Taban, Mukhtiar, Mohammad Ali, Wasee Gul, Mohammad Ismail, Hanif, Naeem Khan, Amjad Khan, Asghar, Nasimullah, Noor Naib and Rashid. An official of the concerned police said influential figures were involved in the theft case and the matter was hushed up.

When NAB declined to hold inquiry into the case it was referred to the provincial Ehtesab Commission, and the case apparently seems to have been closed.

Like crude oil theft scam, the future of BOK case also hangs in the balance. A five-member cabinet committee headed by senior minister Sikandar has submitted report to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak last month.

Mr. Khattak had announced on the floor of the house that head of the inquiry committee would present report in the assembly. The report has yet to see light of the day and no action has been taken against any person.

PTI and Jamaat-i-Islami both coalition partners are keeping mum over the issue obviously to save the coalition from falling apart. Opposition in the assembly is insisting for judicial inquiry, but PTI and JI are opposing involvement of high court in the matter.

JI provincial chief Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said his party member and minister Muzafar Said had already been exonerated and that the BOK MD was found guilty in the committee’s report.

“We did not give up the case. Action against the BOK MD can be delayed but the JI will take it to its logical end,” he said.

Special assistant to the chief minister for information Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani termed BOK case “a dead horse” and there was no need for further discussion on it.

As for the oil theft case, he said it was the responsibility of the NAB, Ehtesab Commission and other agencies to conduct inquiries and take action against those involved in the case.

“Whether the government reports it or not, this is the responsibility of accountability bodies to start inquiry into such cases,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2016