Awami National Party leader Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour is among the many election hopefuls who are defaulters of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), the gas company has found during its scrutiny of candidates for the July 25 polls.

A report in this regard, compiled by the SNGPL and sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), states that it is owed hundreds of millions of rupees by a sizable list of aspiring lawmakers — a bulk of whom are CNG station owners.

The biggest defaulter on the list, per the report, is Amjad Khan Afridi — a former MPA of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf who was expelled from the party. He owes the SNGPL Rs216,295,485.

Bilour, the erstwhile minister for railways and among the more notable names on the list, owes Rs144,670,715, whereas the outstanding amount pertaining to another leader Pervez Khattak stands at Rs106,575,071 in one case and Rs82,422,320 in another.

Hamid Saeed Kazmi, the former minister for religious affairs who belongs to the PPP, is also on the SNGPL list, although at Rs31,500 the amount he owes pales in comparison to the rest.

SNGPL's list of defaulters comes a day after the State Bank of Pakistan red-flagged more than 100 candidates and declared their particulars entered on their poll nomination papers as "extremely dubious".


Clarification: In an earlier version of this report, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and PTI leader Pervez Khattak was incorrectly mentioned among the defaulters. The error is regretted.

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