Malam Jabba Resort case: NAB records statements of PM’s principal secretary, others

PESHAWAR: The joint investigation (JIT) team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday recorded statements of the prime minister’s principal secretary Mohammad Azam Khan and others in a case about lease of the Forest Department’s 275 acres of protected land in the Malam Jabba resort in Swat.

The bNAB spokesperson Salma Begum confirmed to The News that the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Azam Khan and three other officials including former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, former SMBR Waqar Ayub and former Secretary Culture Ahmad Hassan on Thursday appeared before the NAB KP’s joint investigation team in the case of leasing of forest department land at the Malam Jabba resort.

Before them, the former chief minister and current Defence Minister Pervez Khattak had recorded his statement in the case.“The competent authority has taken the cognizance of an offence committed by Pervez Khattak, Khalid Pervez, former additional chief secretary Planning and Development Department KP, Mushtaq Khan, managing director Tourism Corporation KP, and others under the provisions of NAB Ordinance 1999,” the NAP KP stated in one of the call-up notice to the officials.

The notice stated that investigation into illegal award of lease of Malam Jabba resort, ski/chairlift and 275 acres of protected forest land has revealed that “you are in possession of information/evidence whatsoever relating to the commission of the said offence and thus called upon to appear before the Joint Investigation Team at 2pm today.”

The NAB KP has started inquiry into the leasing out of the Forest Department’s 275 acres of protected land in Malam Jabba. The Malam Jabba forests were the property of the former Swat state ruler. After the dissolution of One Unit in Pakistan in 1970, the status of Swat and Chitral as the princely states came to an end.

Later, all the forests in Swat were handed over to the Forest Department. On December 15, 1972, the forest land measuring 270 acres was declared protected. Again on December 20 to 22, 1975, the land was declared a protected area of the Forest Department.

According to the Forest Department, the Tourism Department could not sign any agreement for leasing the land or granting access to it. However, during the previous PTI-led provincial government, 275 acres of the Forest Department was leased out.