NAB arrests Balochistan PSC’s former chairman

Ashraf Magsi issued fake certificates to his three children and a woman

QUETTA: In its ongoing campaign against corruption, the country’s premier anti-graft watchdog has arrested a former chairman of the Balochistan Public Service Commission for alleged misuse of authority and financial corruption.

Ashraf Magsi was detained from his residence Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Balochistan.

“Magsi had issued fake certificates to his two daughters, a son and a woman for acquiring key posts in government departments,” he added. He also pocketed millions of rupees in bribes for issuing such fake certificates to ineligible candidates.

Balochistan Governor Muham¬mad Khan Achakzai had sacked Magsi six months ago on corruption charges. The suspect has been shifted to a NAB cell for further investigation.

The NAB spokesperson said Magsi’s two former deputies, who are already in the watchdog’s custody, were also presented before an accountability court on Monday.

“Abdul Waheed and Niaz Kakar had been arrested for taking bribes along with their ex-chairman. Both of them were involved in issuing fake certificates as well,” he said, adding that references against the two accused had been filed in the accountability court.

Magsi’s arrest came days after a NAB team found more than Rs730 million in cash from the house of a former provincial finance secretary and arrested him for allegedly embezzling local government funds.

Acting on the information gleaned from Mushtaq Raisani, NAB has also detained an executive engineer of the Balochistan communication and works department in Quetta and a contractor from Karachi over corruption charges. The NAB spokesperson confirmed the arrest of Tariq Ali and Sohail Majeed. “Both were involved in mass embezzlement of more than one billion rupees in connivance with Mushtaq Raisani,” he said. The two suspects are being interrogated.

NAB Balochistan Director-General Major (retd) Tariq Malik says more arrests are likely after Raisani’s revelations.

In a related development, a Quetta accountability court re-issued arrest warrants for former provincial food minister Asfandyar Kakar and food department in-charge Shakkar Khan for not appearing before the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2016.