Tiff with K-P minister: BoK MD’s allegations could not be confirmed, says inquiry

Five-member committee submits report to CM

PESHAWAR: A five-member committee probing allegations levelled by Bank of Khyber (BoK)’s managing director against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Finance Minister Muzafar Said has concluded that the ‘accusations could not be confirmed’.

Senior Provincial Minister Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, who headed the committee, confirmed to The Express Tribune that they submitted a 28-page report to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Monday. Other members of the committee were provincial cabinet members Shahram Khan, Shah Farman and Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi, and CM’s Principal Secretary Israr Khan.

Sherpao said the committee has concluded that the allegations levelled by the BoK MD in a press advertisement against the finance minister could not be confirmed. “The minister didn’t indulge in high-level hiring/firing,” Sherpao said. “As a politician, the finance minister had however recommended candidates for class four vacancies, which is not a serious issue.”

The committee, Sherpao said, also concluded that the BoK MD’s ad against the finance minister is violation of rules as well as of the agreement signed by the MD in connection with his appointment. The committee recommended that the chief minister direct all attached and subordinate departments to get prior approval before releasing all important or extraordinary ads.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2016.