Man seeks IHC’s help in probing K-P mines and minerals dept

Claims a project was started by former provincial minister which was completed only on paper

ISLAMABAD: A petitioner has sought the Islamabad High Court’s help in initiating an inquiry against the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, the minister for Mines and Minerals and some other key officials of the department over their alleged involvement in a corruption scandal.

Petitioner Arshad Mehmood has approached the IHC, seeking its intervention in initiating an inquiry against the respondents by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).



He has named K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, K-P Mines and Minerals Director General Saeed Shah, K-P Minister for Mines and Minerals Zaibunnisa Tarkheli, K-P Mines and Minerals Secretary Zaheerul Islam, K-P Mines and Minerals Exploration License DG Amir Khan, as respondents.



In the petition, Mehmood has highlighted that there was a corruption scandal in the mines and mineral department. He added that the then mines and mineral minister Ziaullah Afridi had started a project worth Rs37 million “only on papers in 2015” and shown it as completed in 2016.

“Neither was any machinery, articles purchased for this nor any Thaika (contract) was given to anyone, all matter was done only on papers,” Mehmood stated in his petition.



He claimed that the respondents were responsible for the same and when the petitioner reported the matter to the NAB in Peshawar and to the FIA director general on July 31, they forwarded the matter to the secretary of the department, but to no avail.

He urged the court to direct NAB and FIA to initiate an inquiry regarding corruption of Rs37 million and submit a report before the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2017.