Karachi Sindh’s corruption watchdog has arrested 52 government officers over the charges of embezzlement, registered 72 FIRs, and launched 209 inquiries within the last two months. In a presentation on Sunday, Anti-Corruption Establishment chairman Mumtaz Shah told Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah that the Federal Investigation Agency and the National Accountability Bureau had started sending him cases involving illegal land allotments, forgeries, etc. The ACE chief said so far he had received over 40 cases for inquiry and he had formed a two-member committee to scrutinise and probe them. The chief minister directed the ACE chairman to take the cases being referred to him by the FIA and NAB seriously and act accordingly. “It’s a good omen that the federal agencies have started showing their confidence in the ACE,” he said. Giving details, the ACE chairman said starting from July 22 this year, four raids were conducted in Karachi’s South district wherein three officials were arrested and four FIRs registered. In the East district, six FIRs were registered and five officers held. In West district, two FIRs were registered, 26 inquiries initiated and four people arrested. In Hyderabad, four surprise visits were paid to different departments, three raids conducted, 17 FIRs registered and 17 officers arrested. In Jamshoro, seven raids were carried out, nine FIRs registered, 46 inquiries launched and eight officers arrested. Similarly, four surprise visits and seven raids were carried out in Mirpurkhas, following which eight FIRs were lodged and four officers apprehended. In Shaheed Benazirabad, eight surprise visits and two raids were conducted. Five surprise visits and six raids were conducted in Sukkur and 13 FIRs registered, 24 inquiries launched and nine officers arrested. In Larkana, five raids were conducted, 13 FIRs registered, 135 inquiries started and eight officers arrested. Giving details of the Anti-Corruption Committee-I meeting on August 19 presided over by chief secretary Siddique Memon, the ACE chairman said 82 cases were considered, of which 19 were approved for the registration of FIRs and 36 for launching an inquiry into. It was also decided to reopen 27 cases. Then in the Anti-Corruption Committee-I meeting on August 24, 18 cases were considered, of which four were approved for the registration of FIRs, six for starting a probe into and eight for re-inquiry. Replying to a question, the ACE chairman told the chief minister that commissioners had held five Anti-Corruption Committee-II meetings, in which decisions were made in 37 cases of Karachi’s West district, 50 of Jamshoro district, 14 of Shaheed Benazirabad, 14 of Sukkur and 213 of Larkana - overall, 328 cases of five districts. Most of these cases related to the local government, education, health, works and services, irrigation and revenue departments. The ACE chief said he had also started a process to computerise his department’s records.
