Use of government helicopters by Imran: KP NAB records statements of 5 officials

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded statements of five government functionaries in an inquiry into the alleged misuse of KP government’s helicopters by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

An official of the NAB told The News on Wednesday that Hussain Mehmood Yousafzai, the former secretary Administration Department, has recorded his statement before the Combined Investigation Team (CIT).

The official added that on notice issued by NAB KP, Hussain Mehmood Yousafzai appeared before CIT at 2pm and recorded his statement about official record and faced questions about the use of helicopters.

The NAB official stated that the CIT has already recorded statements of four other officials including Ghulam Hussain, Arbab Farooq, Arbab Shah Rukh and Hifzur Rehman in the matter.

The NAB KP has initiated inquiry on the direction of the NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal against KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and PTI chief Imran Khan over the use of two government helicopters, Mi-17 and Ecureuil, for 74 hours flying time.The NAB chairman had taken notice of the matter after a section of the media reported the misuse of the official helicopters. He directed the NAB KP to look into it.

The NAB had alleged that there was documentary evidence that Imran Khan had paid Rs2.1 million for using an Mi-171 and an Ecureuil helicopter belonging to the KP government for a total of 74 hours at the rate of Rs28,000 per hour.

It added that had Imran Khan used a private company’s helicopters, it would have cost him an hourly fare of between Rs1 million and Rs1.2 million for the Mi-171 and between Rs0.5 million and Rs0.6 million for the Ecureuil.

Citing a statement of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak’s principal adviser on technical training and aviation, the NAB report pointed out that the use of KP helicopters could cost as much as Rs0.2 million per hour.

The reports said that the PTI chief should have paid the provincial government Rs11.1 million but the official documents mentioned the payment of Rs2.1 million only.

The NAB chairman had also asked the NAB KP chief to find out if the KP chief minister had the power to hand over the ‘sensitive’ government assets such as helicopters for non-government use.

It added that the PTI chief used the helicopters to fly to and from Bani Gala, Islamabad, Mardan, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Haripur, Swat, Nathiagali, Kohat, Battagram, and Chakdara among other places.

On the other hand, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in a statement on February 3 said that the PTI Chairman Imran Khan had never used any official helicopter for his private and personal use.

According to the provincial government statement, the question of misuse of the official helicopters by Imran Khan didn’t arise as he has never used any of these choppers for his private or personal use. “A government helicopter in any way is never given for private use. Imran Khan accompanied the ministers/advisers of KP on their official tours on 39 occasions during the last four and a half years,” the statement said.