PPP leader says NAB silent on alleged corruption in BRT

PESHAWAR: The former advisor to the prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, Asma Alamgir, on Wednesday questioned the silence of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over the alleged billions of rupees corruption and other irregularities in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

In her media talks on the accountability court’s premises after appearing in a NAB reference against her and her husband former federal minister Arbab Alamgir,she said billions ofrupees corruption was committed in the BRT during the PTI rule.

“We can only pray that the NAB may take notice of the report to bring culprits to justice,” she said, and alleged that secretary to the prime minister and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister played a key role in the transfer of the NAB DG, Farmanullah, as he made progress in the inquiries against them in Malam Jabba land lease scam and other mega scams.

She alleged that the prime minister also created hurdles in accountability by posting tweets on the arrest and treatment to Dr Abdus Samad, Director Archeology.

Asma said the prime minister had no concern for Dr Abdus Samad, but in fact wanted to save his own brigade, including Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Senior Minister Muhammad Atif Khan, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and others in the Malam Jabba land auction and Billion Tree Tsunami scams.

The former lawmaker alleged that the inquiries against the prime minister in the helicopter case and former chief minister Pervez Khattak in the Malam Jabba land auction case had been consigned to the cold storage. Earlier, the accountability court adjourned till April 29 the trial of the former federal minister, Dr Arbab Alamgir, and his spouse, Asma Alamgir, ex-MNA, who are accused of possessing illegal assets by the National Accountability Bureau.

The accountability judge, Ishtiaq Ahmad, summoned four prosecution witnesses for the next date. A court official said the court had recorded statements of three of the prosecution witnesses.

The couple is facing trial for alleged possession of assets to the tune of Rs332 million, which the NAB, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claims are disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Strict security measures were made and police personnel were deputed in large number near the accountability courts here on the Khyber Road.

Another call for BRT probe: Meanwhile, PPP provincial leader Nawabzada Aurangzeb Khan Hoti has also demanded NAB to conduct probe into misuse of money in the BRT project in the light of a provincial inspection team report.

In a statement on Wednesday, Hoti said that BRT was launched without any planning, which not only delayed the project but also escalated its cost.

Hoti said it was not mere the death of a woman, but billions of rupees from the exchequer had been wasted due to changes in the project design.