ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday launched a formal inquiry into alleged financial irregularities in the multi-billion-rupee Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement Project (KPCIP) following concerns over procurement violations and suspected corruption.

In a notice, seen by Dawn, issued to the project’s management unit of KPCIP, the NAB’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chapter directed officials to furnish all records related to consultant hiring, contractor pre-qualification, bid submissions, audit reports and advertisements.

The bureau cautioned that concealing or misreporting facts could lead to penal consequences under the National Acco­untability Ordin­ance, 1999.

The move follows allegations by lawmakers in the KP Assembly of massive irregularities amounting to Rs32 billion in the project, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Demands all records, cautions officials against hiding or misreporting facts

The KPCIP is designed to upgrade urban infrastructure and services in the cities of Peshawar, Abbottabad, Kohat, Mardan and Mingora.

According to complaints raised before the Public Accounts Committee, a joint venture of Zahir Khan and Brothers and the Turkish firm T.T.Ş-Insaat LLC was unlawfully awarded contracts.

Lawmakers alleged the joint venture, at the time of bidding, was not registered with the Federal Board of Revenue, the KP Revenue Authority, or the Pakistan Engineering Council.

Further allegations include that the venture received undue financial favours and billions in disbursements despite negligible on-ground progress.

The complaints also cite false progress certifications, weak oversight, and tax evasion by the

foreign partner, which allegedly failed to pay income, sales, or withholding taxes, causing substantial losses to the state.

However, Kashif Jan, a project director for Zahir Khan and Brothers, rejected the accusations while talking to Dawn.

“We have been working transparently and have ensured quality of work in all projects,” Mr Jan said. “Zahir Khan and Brothers is a well reputed firm and we never compromise on quality.”

The inquiry comes as the KP provincial government, led by the PTI, has faced persistent allegations of corruption, with sitting ministers having levelled accusations against each other and against Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2025