Tawana Pakistan Project scam: Balochistan’s former DG social welfare gets post-arrest bail

Submits rupees three million in surety

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted post-arrest bail to the former director-general Social Welfare of Balochistan Government, Irfanullah Khan, in the Tawana Pakistan Project (TPP) scam case.

A division bench comprising Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi and Justice Athar Minallah granted bail to Khan against the surety of Rs3 million after it emerged that the investigation agency failed to produce the suspect before the trial court for the last eight hearings.

Khan’s counsel informed the court that he had already submitted Rs20 million under the plea bargain option of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

He, while requesting to grant bail said that Khan was willing to submit the rest of the amount against his name in the case.

The NAB prosecutor opposed the bail application saying the suspect was a key accused in the TPP scam and he not only misused the authority but also embezzled public money.

On January 12, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had dismissed Khan’s bail plea.

The NAB had initiated an inquiry against Khan and others regarding corruption and corrupt practices in the TPP on the direction of the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission in 2009.

The officials were accused of corruption and corrupt practices, illegal gratification and misuse of authority in connivance with others that caused a loss of Rs164.796 million to the national exchequer, along with a further loss of Rs5.28 million, by not deducting compulsory income tax.

The purpose of the project was to address the nutritional needs of girls between the ages of five to 12 years studying in government primary schools of high poverty areas of the country.

The accused persons provided unhygienic food items that were harmful for human health rather than fulfilling their nutritional needs.

The senior government officers were allegedly involved in corrupt practices in the award of a food supply contract to a company in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules 2004.

TPP was launched by the now devolved ministry of social welfare after the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved it in September 2002.

Under the project, nutrient milk was to be provided to schools in the less-developed areas.

During an audit of 23 schools in the selected districts, about 73 per cent of the schoolteachers revealed that the milk supplied to the schools was unhygienic and stale.

The court awarded bail to Khan with directions to submit the surety amount.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2016.