Ex-Punjab CM’s principal secretary Bhatti arrested

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Sunday arrested former chief minister’s principal secretary, Muhammad Khan Bhatti, for alleged corruption in development projects.

Muhammad Khan Bhatti was the principal secretary to Punjab’s former chief minister Pervaiz Elahi.

As per sources in the bureau, Muhammad Khan Bhatti influenced his position and, in connivance with Pervaiz Elahi and other accused, appointed their confidant Mahr Azmat Hayat as XEN of Punjab Highways Department, Gujrat Division, and then promoted him to the post of Superintending Engineer (SE), Gujrat Circle.

They further alleged that accused Pervaiz Elahi in connivance with Muhammad Khan Bhatti and other accused, by disregarding rules, approved 116-km road development schemes under supplementary grants with the ulterior motive of receiving bribe and kickbacks. Moreover, the accused Pervaiz Elahi, Moonis Elahi and Muhammad Khan Bhatti got awarded contracts of road development works to their nominated contractors through Mahr Azmat Hayat, SE Gujrat.

The accused persons issued payments to contractors without work done at site for the purpose of collecting bribe/kickbacks from contractors. The amounts of bribe/kickbacks were collected by Pervaiz Elahi, Moonis Elahi and Muhammad Khan Bhatti through Mahr Azmat Hayat and Sohail Asghar Awan (personal secretary of Moonis Elahi).

The NAB team interrogated Muhammad Khan Bhatti in the Central Jail, Lahore, on Sunday with the court permission and executed arrest warrants issued by the NAB chairman. Bhatti will be produced before Accountability Court, Lahore, on Monday (today).