NAB arrests six MDA officials in Multan metro bus project

MULTAN: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Thursday arrested six officials of Multan Development Authority, including former director general, director engineering, two XENs and two SDOs, in the Multan Metro Bus project on Thursday.

The National Accountability Bureau officials arrested MDA Director Engineering Nazir Ahmed Chughtai when he appeared before a local court for hearing. XEN Rana Wasim and SDOs Manzoor Hussain and Munam Saeed were arrested from the Multan Development Authority offices. MDA former director general Sabir Khan Sadozai and XEN Rana Khalid were also arrested.

The Multan Development Authority officials were charged with auctioning contracts to the companies at low rates and obliging a defaulted contractor. More than 15 senior bureaucrats are under investigation. It is learnt that former Multan commissioner Asadullah Butt and two former deputy commissioners Nadir Chattha and Zahid Salim Gondal were also investigated by the National Accountability Bureau. However, their arrest has not been decided yet. Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau executive board ordered an inquiry into Multan metro bus project corruption in December last.

The National Accountability Bureau ordered inquiry soon after the revelation of corruption worth $17.5 million in the Multan metro bus project. The National Accountability Bureau had sought help from the Federal Investigation Agency, seeking complete record of the project.