PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has arrested two persons, including chief executive of a firm, for alleged embezzlement of funds in ‘Clean Drinking Water for All’ project, causing loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer.

The two suspects, CEO of M/S Ideal Hydrotech Systems Pakistan Ltd Mohammad Ramzan and a bank officer, Asghar Khan, were produced before an accountability court on Thursday which remanded them into NAB custody for 11 days.

The NAB claimed that Ramzan in connivance with other co-accused persons gave fake bank guarantees and illegally secured mobilisation advance for execution of the project. It added that Asghar Khan, who was an employee of a private bank, verified the fake guarantees produced by the contractors.

The ‘Clean Drinking Water for All’ project was started by the Ministry of Industries and Commerce across the country to install filtration plants in different localities. The contractors in connivance with others did not execute the project, resulting in not only loss to the national exchequer, but also failed in provision of water to general public. The project was approved by Central Development Working Party in 2006.

Under the scheme, one water filtration plant was to be installed in each union council, including the former tribal areas and Northern Areas.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2018