Graft charges against official to be investigated

CHARSADDA: The government on Friday constituted a three-member committee to investigate allegations of corruption and misuse of authority by the deputy commissioner.

A three-member committee comprising Charsadda’s District Nazim Fahad Riaz Khan, District Police Officer Sohail Khalid Khan and Charsadda Press Club President Sabz Ali Tareen will investigate the allegations and submit the report to the government within 15 days.

The government constituted the committee after the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) youth wing launched a protest campaign against Deputy Commissioner Tahir Zafar Abbassi after accusing him of involvement in corruption.

People from all walks of life, including traders, political activists and students attended the protest camp. The district Nazim and naib nazim also came to the protest camp.However, after the constitution of the probe committee the JI youth wing called off the protest.

Addressing the protesters, JI leader Mujeebur Rehman, provincial president of the JI youth wing Haroon Khan and others alleged that a person claiming to be an official of a premier intelligence agency was making threatening phone calls to journalists.

They said the caller ordered journalists to avoid reporting on the issue. They also alleged that the JI youth wing members were warned to end the protest.The protesters warned that they would hold the deputy commissioner and the intelligence agency responsible if anything happened to journalists or protesters.

Meanwhile, the members of Charsadda Press Club appealed the Chief of Army Staff to order inquiry against the officer for making threatening calls to journalists.At an emergency meeting held at the Press Club, the members noted that the caller had ordered journalists to stop reporting on the issue, extend cooperation to the official and remove all posts from the social media.