Punjab ACE seeks record of uplift projects under Elahi, Buzdar

LAHORE: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Punjab, has sought the records of development projects initiated during the tenures of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Usman Buzdar, local media reported on Saturday.

The newly-appointed Punjab ACE Director General Sohail Zafar Chatta has called all commissioners to appear before the establishment with records relating to development projects in Pervaiz Elahi’s era. Apart from this, details of development projects of the PTI era were also sought from them.

According to sources, in the first phase, senior officers of the government departments who served in the Punjab government during the PTI and Pervaiz Elahi governments from 2018 to 2023 were called to the inquiry along with the records.

The ACE also issued a warning that any senior officer who does not cooperate with the anti-corruption records would be arrested.

According to sources, ACE Punjab has also reopened an inquiry against Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid.

The department also reopened an inquiry into the Rawalpindi Ring Road scandal.

In the second phase, former PTI and Ch Pervaiz Elahi cabinet ministers will be called for an inquiry, the sources added. They said that inquiries and arrests are likely to be started next week. The sources said that the establishment ordered to arrest corrupt officers and ex-ministers till March 15.

All the cases registered against Farrah Gogi in the anti-corruption department have also been reopened.

Punjab ACE decided to postpone the LDA cases which are in the courts.

The sources said that the records of departments of former minister Mian Mehmood-ul-Rashid, Ch Moonis Elahi, Raja Basharat, Murad Ras, Dr Yasmin Rashid and other ministers have been sought. Punjab ACE officer Anwar Shah who took away files from the department is absconding.

The anti-corruption establishment has also sought records of all housing societies across Punjab. The department intends to determine how many housing societies were given relief by former chief minister Usman Buzdar and Pervaiz Elahi in their eras.