KP CM welcomes accountability process in army

Asks federal govt to follow suit

NOWSHERA: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Saturday welcomed the accountability process in the army and urged the federal government to follow suit.

He said the sacking of the military officers had panicked the ruling elite, particularly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif whose family was named in the Panama Leaks.

The chief minister was talking to reporters after attending public meetings in Amangarh town in the Nowshera district.

He said that making public the punishment awarded to the army officers was a bold decision of the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.

Pervez Khattak said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) welcomed and supported the move.

He said the decision had compounded the hardships of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other people, who he claimed, had offshore companies.

He said though the accountability process existed in the army, it was the first time that the institution had made public the sacking of its officers on charges of corruption. “This decision would have long-term impacts,” he added.

The chief minister said the menace of corruption could not be eliminated until and unless the corrupt were held accountable and the looted money was recovered from them.

He expressed grief over the assassination of his special assistant on minorities’ affairs Sardar Soran Singh in Pir Baba area in the Buner district and termed it a big tragedy.

Pervez Khattak said the civil authorities and establishment was on one page against militancy and they were coordinating with each other.

The chief minister said the province was in a state of war against terrorism and the fight against the menace would be taken to its logical end.

He said the law-enforcers were carrying out targetted and information-based joint actions against militants in the province.

Pervez Khattak said the law-enforcers had dismantled the militant network and they were on the run.

Criticising Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and other party leaders for their criticism of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Pervez Khattak said the stories of corruption of ANP were still fresh in the minds of the people.

“The ANP chief talks of accountability in television talk shows. The people know about the properties of ANP leaders abroad and rampant corruption in the party’s-led previous government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

He said Syed Masoom Shah, who was an aide to the then chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti, embezzled billions of rupees but returned only Rs250 million to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). “He (Masoom Shah) confessed to have committed corruption,” he said.

O the occasion, several councillors and activists of other political parties announced joining the PTI.