PPP senator asks NAB to arrest Imran, others

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Bahramand Tangi has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for their involvement in mega corruption cases.

Talking to The News here on Saturday, he said the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was the only government that couldn’t complete even a single project during its five years term in office.

He asked NAB to ‘arrest Imran Khan Niazi,’ Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and his cabinet ministers before holding inquiry against them like they arrested PPP leaders in Sindh.

He accused the chief minister and the ministers of being involved in corruption in mega projects in Tourism Department, Bank of Khyber (BoK), Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), using KP government’s helicopter and Billion Tree Tsunami project.

The senator said that billions of rupees were spent on the much-publicised projects so an inquiry should be held into the embezzlement of funds.

He recalled that the people voted PTI into power to bring about change and introduce reforms but nothing practical was done for the poor.

He said neither any improvement was made nor any relief was given to the common man during the last five years.

Bahramand Tangi added that the poor were still running from pillar to post for getting justice.

He said that helpless educated youth were still searching for jobs and public sector hospitals lacked facilities.

“No improvement could be made in the working of government departments,” he said, adding that the people were hoodwinked on the pretext of change and hollow slogans.

The PPP senator hoped that the PPP would win the upcoming general election, arguing that the nation had realised the double standards and inefficiency of the PTI rulers.

He said that PPP won the by-elections in Chitral, Dir Upper and Peshawar, claiming his party managed to increase its vote-bank despite losing the polls.

The PTI-led government in KP, he said, overburdened the innocent people by getting huge loans even more than the previous governments.

About the future election alliances, Bahramand Tangi quoted PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari that they would contest elections under PPP flag and symbol.

He said no alliance had been made with any party. However, he said he was not sure as to what would happen tomorrow.

He expressed ignorance about exact number of applicants for the party tickets and said date for receiving applications had been extended. He added that the PPP headquarters had received applications from each and every constituency in the country.

Appreciating the vision of his party’s leadership, he said the PPP was true representative of the oppressed people.

Being a member of the lower middle class, he said that his party made him senator and he like those of his other party leaders were in contact with his electorate and would win the elections with the support of poor.

He didn’t agree that he was ignoring his party leader before inviting newcomers and central leaders into his province and said he had never inducted any person without taking his provincial president into confidence.

Bahramand Tangi said before inviting a person from other party to PPP, he discussed the matter with his provincial president Humayun Khan and share the progress of his talks with him and took every decision with his approval.

He said he brought many people from other parties to the PPP but the credit went to its provincial president.

He said that political opponents felt threatened with the growing popularity graph of PPP and they had indulged in such propaganda.