PPP leaders to NAB: where is helicopter case against PM?

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party leader Asma Alamgir on Monday questioned the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) about the fate of the helicopter case against Prime Minister Imran Khan and said there should be accountability across the board and not just of the opposition.

“Where is the helicopter case?” Asma Alamgir asked while talking to the media after appearing in a reference against her and her husband Arbab Alamgir for alleged possession of assets to the tune of Rs332 million. The NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed these assets are disproportionate to the couple’s known sources of income.

She said the prime minister is a Pakistani citizen and therefore not above the law. The anti-graft body should also inform the public about the helicopter case against the prime minister, she added.

The PPP leader questioned why the NAB was silent over the case against the prime minister despite the fact that the anti-graft body possessed evidence against him.She said that currently only the opposition is on the radar of the NAB. She argued that NAB should also take action against the powerful and influential persons or else the entire process of accountability would become a futile exercise.

Asma Alamgir asked why the NAB had kept quiet over the corruption of Rs230 million done during the PTI rule in a government education scheme, “Rokhana Pakhtunkhwa Talimee Programme” under the Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation to support middle and high school students in the province.

She said the managing director of the programme has unveiled the scam but he was made a scapegoat and suspended as he had found serious irregularities in the voucher scheme. She said that of 90 schools as many as 70 were found to be ghost schools.

The PPP leader said that as per the managing director’s claim, 14,000 students were enrolled in the scheme but 11,000 were not found.“A total of 41,000 students were enrolled in documents but after validation 21,000 students could not be accounted for. The NAB should conduct inquiry in this case too,” she maintained.

On the other hand, Arbab Alamgir complained about the slow pace of the trial in their case.Astonishingly, he said, the NAB officials were investigating his salary, which he had already declared in his statement that he had received the salary as MNA and minister.

Meanwhile, the accountability court here on Monday adjourned till May 27 the trial of former federal minister Dr Arbab Alamgir and Asma Alamgir, who were accused of possessing illegal assets by the NAB.

The accountability judge, Ishtiaq Ahmad, recorded statements of two prosecution witnesses and summoned the others at the next hearing.