PHC tells Ehtesab commission not to arrest AMI officials

Directs petitioners to cooperate with provincial anti-corruption body in probe

ABBOTTABAD: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday granted doctors and former officials of the Ayub Medical Institution (AMI) a stay over a probe by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission.

The court has also issued notices to the commission, directing them to submit their replies along with the relevant record on the next hearing.

A two-judge bench of the PHC comprising Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Younis Thaheem heard a petition from AMI’s former chief executive Professor Dr Nisar Khan, Dr Jehangir Khan,Dr Kamran Rizvi, Dr Umar Hayat Khan, Ayub Medical College Dean Professor Dr Azizun Nisa Abbasi, Dr Salem Wazir, Professor Dr Mumtaz Khan Burki and  former AMC principal Prof Dr Shahid Sultan who had challenged a probe against them for alleged corruption in purchasing equipment for the gynecological and paediatric wards of the Ayub Teaching Hospital.

Through their counsel Pir Fida Muhammad Khan, they claimed that investigation against them violated subsection three and four and 35 of the K-P Ehtesab Commission Act 2014.

Further, the petitioners claimed that the inquiry team constituted by the Abbottabad Medical Complex (AMC) - the competent forum - to investigate them. This inquiry team, they argued, had found no evidence of embezzlement or loss of public money against the petitioners and had exonerated them of the allegations levelled by the provincial inspection team in their inquiry report.

The petition further stated that on the basis of ‘minor’ irregularities and discrepancies in some part of the process, the petitioners cannot be held responsible for the entire process of purchasing medical equipment, especially when no loss of public money has been reported.

“If any irregularity or discrepancy was noted, it was not intentional and since have not resulted in any loss to the government or public money, therefore any such irregularity or discrepancy is can be rectified under the law,” they said.

The writ petition stated that the provincial government had approved Rs180 million to build a new gynaecological and paediatric ward at the AMC and to purchase equipment for it.

But with the wards built and equipment yet to be acquired, therefore, a tender was floated to procure the necessary equipment for the wards. The tender was also posted on the official websites of the information department, Ayub Medical Institution and the PPRA.

In response to the advertisement, 41 firms expressed interest while 20 firms deposited tender documents. A review of the technical proposals in the presence of suppliers and per a technical evaluation by the purchase committee, 14 firms were shortlisted to supply the equipment.

Based on the technical evaluation, financial bids were reviewed and the purchase order was issued. Following the rules, the tender process continued.

The two-member bench, however, directed the petitioners to cooperate with the respondents in their inquiry. However, the court stopped the commission from arresting the petitioners for now.

The court later adjourned the matter to July 19.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2017.