Chinese aid: Court orders probe against four anti-corruption officials

GILGIT: An Anti-Corruption Court (ACC) on Tuesday ordered an inquiry against four officials of Anti-Corruption Establishment for dropping charges against three police officers in a Chinese aid scandal.

ACC Judge Mahmood-ul-Hassan expressed concern over the manner in which the police officers were cleared and even issued NOCs for foreign travel.

The court directed the Director General of Anti-Corruption Establishment to complete the investigation within a month and submit a detailed report to the court.

The court also questioned the DIG Police Headquarters about legal basis for directing his subordinates to collect aid from the port without any formal handover procedure.

China had provided equipment worth Rs 45 million to support Gilgit-Baltistan’s security agencies. When more than half of the aid reportedly went missing, a case was registered against three police officials on October 23, 2024.

However, the Anti-Corruption Establishment later dropped the charges against the police officials under Section 169.

The court during the hearing raised multiple questions over the entire process. Details of both received and missing aid have now been submitted for review.