Tawana Pakistan Project scam: Post-arrest bail denied to Irfanullah Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a post-arrest bail petition for Irfanullah Khan, former director-general social welfare for the Balochistan government, in connection with the Tawana Pakistan Project (TPP) scam case.

A division bench comprising of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani dismissed Khan’s bail in the multi-billion scam. Khan’s counsel had sought bail on medical grounds.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated an inquiry against Khan and others regarding corruption in the case on direction of the PM’s Inspection Commission in 2009.

Khan is accused of corrupt practices, illegal gratification, and misuse of authority in connivance with other officials. According to details, this is said to have caused a loss of Rs164.796 million to the national exchequer, in addition to a loss of Rs5.28 million due to non-deduction of income tax.

The project was intended to address the nutritional requirements of girls between the ages of five and 12 years old, studying in government primary schools in high poverty areas of the country. The accused are alleged to have provided unhygienic food that was harmful for human health.

In February 2015, NAB arrested Khan, who had been an absconder in the case for four years.

Khan, along with other senior government officers, was allegedly involved in corrupt practices in the award of a food supply contract to a company in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules 2004.

TPP was launched by the now devolved ministry of social welfare, after the executive committee of the National Economic Council approved the project in September 2002.

Under the project, nutrient-filled milk was to be provided to schools in less-developed areas. During an audit of 23 schools in selected districts, around 73 per cent of schoolteachers revealed that the milk supplied to the schools was unhygienic and stale.

In his plea, Khan’s counsel said that his client was suffering from multiple diseases and was unable to receive proper treatment in jail. However, when asked to support this claim before the court, the counsel was unable to satisfy the court with evidence.

At one stage, the counsel even turned down the court’s offer and suggested the constitution of a medical board to determine the former director-general’s health.

NAB Additional Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi opposed the bail plea, saying that Khan was the principal accused in the TPP scam. He reminded the court that Khan had remained an absconder for several years, and may abscond again if granted bail.

The court subsequently dismissed the petition.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2016.