QUETTA, April 3: At least 75 officers of grade 17 and above have been dismissed in the Balochistan, while many officials and former ministers are facing corruption cases, provincial Information and Information Technology Minister Roshan Khurshid Barucha said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a workshop on “National anti-corruption strategy” organized by the National Accountability Bureau, she said the looted money recovered from the corrupt people was enough for the rehabilitation of drought hit people of Balochistan.

She suggested that NAB should deposit the recovered money in the provincial treasury as it had been looted from the provincial exchequer.

She said: “Two officers of grade 21 and four of grade 20, against whom corruption charges were proved, were also dismissed in Balochistan.”

Mrs Barucha informed the participants of the workshop that soon after coming into power the government removed 138 corrupt officers from their posts and 124 cases were sent to the Regional Accountability Bureau for investigation. Departmental probe was initiated against 220 officers, she said.

“A former chief minister and 26 former ministers also faced inquiry on corruption charges,” she said.

“Good governance is very important for democratic reforms,” she said and added that the reforms should be based on direct participation of people in the government, accountability process and a transparent check and balance system. She said an accountability process was necessary for ensuring the success of the government. She stressed reforms on permanent basis for the elimination of corruption.

She said Balochistan was the first province where legal action was initiated and a campaign was launched against corruption with the help of military monitoring teams.

NAB Chairman Lt-Gen Munir Hafiz and RAB Project Director Brig Shujat Zamir Dar also spoke.