Theft of 472,872 govt wheat bags

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is investigating Balochistan’s former food minister for his alleged role in the theft of 4,72,872 government wheat bags from the Provincial Reserve Centre, documents available with The News reveal.
The bureau has authorized investigation against Asfand Yar Kakar, ex-minister food; Ali Bakhsh Baloch, ex-secretary food Balochistan; Zahir Jan Jamaldini, ex-deputy director food; and Shakar Khan, ex-superintendent in charge PRC Sariab in the recent executive board meeting.
Sources in the bureau disclosed that they will shortly be filing a reference against the ex-minister for selling hundreds of thousands of wheat bags from government godown causing a loss of over Rs1.5 billion to the national exchequer.
NAB documents reveal that after receiving report that around 472,872/- government wheat bags worth millions of rupees had been embezzled from the PRC, initial probe into the matter revealed that provincial Anti-Corruption Establishment was also conducting an inquiry into the same allegations.
“A calculation/counting committee, comprising Food Department, Finance Department and ACE Officers constituted by Secretary S&GAD for PRC Sariab, DDF Quetta, intimated the Food Directorate on 28th March, 2013, that 472,872 wheat bags were found missing. The case was transferred from ACE to NAB Balochistan.
The case was presented in 385th Regional Board Meeting (RBM) dated 16-08-2013”, documents state.
Regarding the findings, the NAB’s EBM was informed that during the course of inquiry, it has been revealed that 4,72,872 bags of wheat approximately worth of Rs1525.0122 million were embezzled and the above-mentioned officers/officials of Food Department Balochistan were involved in the said embezzlement.
“If officers/officials of PRC Sariab had performed their duties properly and conducted fortnightly and monthly inspections, the national exchequer would have been saved from loss of millions of rupees”.
“During the course of Inquiry, it was revealed that a DO was issued by ex-minister food Asfand Yar Kakar regarding posting of Shakar Khan, Office Assistant (BPS-14) as in charge PRC Sariab despite the fact that Shakar Khan was an office assistant and did not fulfill the criteria to be posted as in charge PRC.
Subsequently Shakar Khan embezzled 472,872 wheat bags and disappeared.
During the whole tenure, the then Assistant Director Food Shahjahan Kakar continuously wrote to the senior authorities that Shakar was not properly managing the affairs of PRC and there was strong likelihood that he will misappropriate the wheat but no timely action was taken by higher authorities, which resulted in the loss and abscondence of accused”, the probe reveals.