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ANP stages protest outside NAB office

By Bureau report
June 25, 2019

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) protested the alleged prevalent corruption in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s failure to take action against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership for its corrupt practices.

The protest was staged outside the NAB office in Hayatabad on Monday. The protestors alleged NAB had shown partiality while carrying out accountability.ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial president Aimal Wali Khan, provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak and other leaders addressed the protesters.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain alleged that the PTI was the most corrupt party in the country. He said it had spent billions on the provincial Ehtesab Commission for hounding political opponents.The ANP leader said that NAB was performing the duty of the government’s “bodyguard” as it had turned a blind eye to the ruling party leaders’ corruption. He said NAB had become a tool in the hands of the rulers who were victimizing their political opponents.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan, former chief minister Pervez Khattak and other PTI leaders should be investigated for their involvement in corruption.He said the country’s problems could be solved through transparent election and by handing over power to real representatives of the people.

The ANP leader said that pre-poll rigging had been started in tribal districts with the deployment of soldiers inside polling stations.He said his party wanted the powers that be to remove the ‘imposed rulers’ and hold free election in the country. ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan claimed that NAB chairman had given green signal for the arrest of former chief minister Pervez Khattak after enough evidence was collected about his corruption, but no action was taken due to intervention of powerful elements.

He said the then NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry was removed from his position as well. The ANP leader alleged that strings were being pulled from somewhere else to protect the corrupt mafia.

He claimed that NAB had admitted in the Peshawar High Court that billions of rupees corruption had been committed in a case. Aimal Wali said the prime minister who boasted of accountability had gathered a team of corrupt people. He said the cost of the Bus Rapid Transit had crossed Rs100 billion while the completion of the project was still not possible in the near future.

The ANP leader said the KP inspection team had disclosed that Rs7 billion as commission had been taken in the project which had been initiated without any planning.He said Imran Khan had caused a loss of Rs2 million for using the KP government helicopter illegally for 74 hours. AImal Wali also alleged that billions of rupees loss was caused to the KP when saplings were purchased from Punjab at high prices.

Sardar Hussain Babak said the PTI-led government had spent Rs6 billion on the beatification of Peshawar and uprooted the plants planted under the project to avoid accountability.He claimed that all employees who had pointed out corruption in the project were suspended while the accountability institutions kept mum over the corruption. He said the resources of the province were being looted for the last six years.

He claimed that the National Testing Service collected Rs55 billion from students and job seekers and the government must be made answerable over these corrupt practices. He said NAB was silent over the Malam Jabba and other cases.