OKARA: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has registered a case against 62 suspects, including 12 officials of the Zila Council (ZC) and 50 government contractors, more than two years after alleged embezzlement of Rs3.74 billion from eight different budget heads of the council.

According to the first information report registered at the ACE Okara police station, the suspects are accused of misappropriating Rs3.74 billion allocated under eight different budget heads of the Zila Council during the 2023 financial year.

Following an inquiry, the regional director of the Anti-Corruption Establishment, Sahiwal, found the 62 suspects responsible for the alleged misappropriation of public funds and recommended their prosecution.

According to the FIR, the corruption reference was forwarded by the then ex-officio ACE director and Okara Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Farrukh Attique Khan to the ACE Sahiwal regional director through letter No. 1163/HCG/DC dated May 17, 2024.

The reference sought an inquiry into payments made by the Zila Council under eight different budget heads during the 2023 financial year against the council’s approved budget allocations.

After a lengthy inquiry, the authorities recommended the registration of a case against 12 senior Zila Council officials, including one woman. The nominated officials include former chief officers Shahzad Iqbal and Naveed Ahmad. The FIR also names 50 government contractors, including Tahir Mehmood, Irfan, Ishaq, Kashif, Amjad, Shah Nawaz, Rohail, Ghulam Murtaza, Iftikhar and Amir, along with 40 others.

The ACE Okara police registered the case under Sections 409 and 166 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 5(2)/47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Following the registration of the case, the authorities also constituted a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to conduct further investigations.

The JIT comprises the deputy director (technical), ACE Sahiwal, the deputy director (investigation), ACE Okara, and the assistant director (investigation), ACE Okara.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2026