PESHAWAR, Jan 14: The Frontier Assembly swept under the carpet a question relating to a financial scam involving more than Rs22 million and provided a safe exit to the accused contractor when the mover did not press for discussion on the scandal during the proceedings on Wednesday.
Shah Hussain Khan of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal from remote Battagram district, who had raised the scam, tried to hush the matter when the question came up for debate in the house.
The MPAs were stunned when the mover asked his colleagues, who wanted to refer the matter to the house committee, to close their eyes to the question. Acting Speaker Advocate Khushdel Khan chaired the session.
Another question that astonished the house related to the reappointment of the chief engineer of public health engineering department, who was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on corruption charges and was released after entering into plea bargain with the NAB. The question was raised by Israrullah Khan Gandapur. The official concerned was sitting in the officers’ gallery when the question was raised in the house.
Law Minister Arshad Abdullah on behalf of Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti, who holds the portfolio of works and services department, also kept silent and shirked debate on the question about the road project.
According to the MMA lawmaker, the works and services department had awarded a contract of Rs17.910 million to M/S Mohammad Haroon & Sons for the construction of link road in PF-60, Battagram-II in the annual development programme 2003-04 and 2004-05.
The completion period was 18 months. The official statement presented in the house said that the department conducted an inquiry and it was found that the contractor had received a payment of Rs22.679 million on June 22, 2008 despite the fact that the work had been left incomplete.
Now the department had requested for Rs10.988 million additional funds from the government to complete the remaining work.
The house was informed that the government had confiscated about Rs2 million security of the contractor. MPAs Javed Abbasi of PML-N, Mufti Kifayatullah of MMA and parliamentary leader of PML-Q Sikander Lodhi through supplementary questions and point of orders requested the chair to refer the issue to the committee concerned.
They said that contractor had embezzled taxpayers money and he should be made accountable.
As the members were making hue and cry the mover all of a sudden raised to the mike and asked the chair that he was not interested to refer the matter to the house committee.
MPA Israrullah Khan Gandapur, who questioned the reappointment of the PHED chief engineer, said that NAB had conducted inquiries against 19 officials and contractors of the W&S department in Dera Ismail Khan district for misappropriation into development schemes.
He said that all of the accused including XEN Allauddin Khan admitted their crime and agreed with NAB for out of court settlement. He said that the accused paid Rs60 million as plea bargain to the NAB for their release. The XEN had paid half of the total amount to the bureau.
Mr Gandapur said that under NAB Ordinance if an official went for out of court settlement he/she would be removed from his/her job.
Ironically, the mover said, government not only restored the official but he had been appointed now as chief engineer public health and services department.
After plea bargaining the official was initially posted as general manager in National Highway Authority on the recommendation of head of a religious party who was in power at that time.
He said that the matter should be referred to the house committee and the NAB should transfer the amount recovered from the accused to the concerned department.
He was supported by other members. The minister in-charge did not oppose and acting speaker referred the case to the house committee.