K-P Ehtisab Commission to probe former ANP minister
Commission asks Senator Sitara Ayaz to provide complete details of assets
Sitara Ayaz. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtisab Commission has started investigating Senator Sitara Ayaz for corruption when she served as a minister for social welfare in the previous provincial government.
In a statement released by the Ehtisab Commission on Thursday, the anti-corruption watchdog claimed that when Ayaz served as a minister she accrued wealth beyond her known sources of income.
It was also claimed that her husband, Imran Afridi, had aggregated assets worth millions of rupees, all of which had been bought with the senator’s allegedly ill-gotten money.
“She has been asked to submit all information relating to her assets by the investigation team of Ehtisab Commission and directed to submit it [asset details] within 15 days,” said an official of the commission.
He added that another case relating to mismanagement at the Social Welfare Department was also under investigation.
The K-P Ehtisab Commission (K-PEC) had started investigations against several ministers from the previous Awami National Party (ANP) government. A number of key political personalities are also expected to be asked to submit information about their assets in the coming days.
On October 20, 2015, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had stopped the commission from arresting Ayaz.
The decision came after the ANP senator had approached court over an arrest warrant against her which was issued by the K-PEC in a case of ‘misuse of authority’ during her tenure as minister.
She was accused of misappropriating Rs1 billion in corruption and favouritism as well as recruiting her relatives on a key post in the Department.
Previously, the ANP had claimed that Ayaz was being harassed by members of the K-PEC as they denied she was not involved in any corruption.
Ayaz is the third parliamentarian, sitting or former, against whom the K-PEC has issued arrest warrants. Others against whom arrest warrants were issued included Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Minister Ziaullah Afridi and former Pakistan Peoples Party minister Liaqat Shabab.
On October 17, 2015, a team of K-PEC had travelled to Islamabad to arrest Ayaz but were unable to arrest her since they could not obtain permission from the Senate chairman.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2017.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtisab Commission has started investigating Senator Sitara Ayaz for corruption when she served as a minister for social welfare in the previous provincial government.
In a statement released by the Ehtisab Commission on Thursday, the anti-corruption watchdog claimed that when Ayaz served as a minister she accrued wealth beyond her known sources of income.
It was also claimed that her husband, Imran Afridi, had aggregated assets worth millions of rupees, all of which had been bought with the senator’s allegedly ill-gotten money.
“She has been asked to submit all information relating to her assets by the investigation team of Ehtisab Commission and directed to submit it [asset details] within 15 days,” said an official of the commission.
He added that another case relating to mismanagement at the Social Welfare Department was also under investigation.
The K-P Ehtisab Commission (K-PEC) had started investigations against several ministers from the previous Awami National Party (ANP) government. A number of key political personalities are also expected to be asked to submit information about their assets in the coming days.
On October 20, 2015, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had stopped the commission from arresting Ayaz.
The decision came after the ANP senator had approached court over an arrest warrant against her which was issued by the K-PEC in a case of ‘misuse of authority’ during her tenure as minister.
She was accused of misappropriating Rs1 billion in corruption and favouritism as well as recruiting her relatives on a key post in the Department.
Previously, the ANP had claimed that Ayaz was being harassed by members of the K-PEC as they denied she was not involved in any corruption.
Ayaz is the third parliamentarian, sitting or former, against whom the K-PEC has issued arrest warrants. Others against whom arrest warrants were issued included Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Minister Ziaullah Afridi and former Pakistan Peoples Party minister Liaqat Shabab.
On October 17, 2015, a team of K-PEC had travelled to Islamabad to arrest Ayaz but were unable to arrest her since they could not obtain permission from the Senate chairman.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2017.