LAHORE: The PML-N has taken on Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for giving a ‘clean chit’ to top government functionaries and made two official scapegoats.

The ACE has arrested former commissioner of Rawalpindi retired Capt Muhammad Mahmood and land acquisition collector Abbas Tabish for their alleged involvement in the Ring Road scam.

“The real culprits of this scam are Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, federal ministers Ghulam Sarwar and Sheikh Rashid, and former special assistant to the premier Zulfi Bokhari. But the ACE did not lay hands on these holy cows,” PML-N Punjab information secretary Azma Bokhari said on Thursday.

She said ACE chief Gohar Nafees said it could not arrest politicians in this case because it did not come in its domain.

Accused remanded in ACE custody

“Nafees Gohar, who is facing an inquiry in the NAB, had raided the residences of PML-N lawmakers and arrested them. Now when it comes to lay hands on the PTI politicians, Gohar said it did not come under the domain of the ACE,” she lamented.

She demanded the ACE chief resign if he could not proceed against those politicians and top functionaries of the PTI government involved in the scam.

REMANDED: A judicial magistrate remanded the former commissioner and land acquisition collector in four-day ACE custody.

An ACE team produced the suspect/officers before the magistrate and sought 14-day physical remand.

The investigating officer stated the suspects had changed the design of the project with mala fide intention to benefit certain housing societies. He said the suspects also made ghost payments under the head of land acquisition. He said the act of the suspects caused a huge loss to the public money.

A counsel representing the suspects opposed the remand and said his clients had already furnished complete record and details of the case to ACE.

He said former SAPM Zulfi Bukhari and Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar were also named in the scam but they were not arrested and rather given a clean chit.

The magistrate granted four-day remand of the suspects to the ACE with a direction to produce them again on July 19.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2021