‘PAC has unearthed Rs4b corruption in govt depts’

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani has revealed that Public Accounts Committee of the assembly that he heads has unearthed over Rs4 billion corruption in different provincial government departments.

This, he disclosed while speaking at Meet-the-Press Programme organised by Khyber Union of Journalist (KhUJ) at the Peshawar Press Club on Thursday. He added that the embezzled money would soon be returned to departments concerned. Talking about the Rashkai Economic Zone, he said that only 20 per cent Chinese investors would be included in the economic zone while the rest of 80 per cent would be utilised by the local investors.

“I offered the foreign investors to use my office,” he said and added that the KP is a lucrative destination for foreign as well as local investors.

The speaker said investors from across the world were keen on making an investment in Pakistan due to Prime Minister Imran Khan, who, he said, had an inspirational personality.

Mushtaq Ghani said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had inherited multiple problems which had weakened the country’s economy. He, however, said the government is committed to steering the country of the prevailing crisis situation.

The KP Assembly speaker believed that some elements were trying to paint a bleak picture of the country’s state of affairs to create a panic-like situation because the government had stopped the ways and means of corruption and was trying to bring back the looted national wealth from abroad.

Mushtaq Ghani said the country was faced with a host of challenges. He said Pakistan was on verge of bankruptcy when the PTI government took over in the country. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had exposed the previous rulers’ wrongdoings.

The KP Assembly speaker said he had tried his level best from the day one to establish contact between government and oppositions. He said the provincial assembly had approved more than 22 laws so far.