Fate of Peshawar Metro Bus hangs in balance

After the removal of the CEO and resignation of three senior officials the project is left without top management

PESHAWAR: Pervez Khattak’s plans of launching the Peshawar Metro Bus during his tenure seems to be hanging in the balance after three more officials resigned after the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister fired the chief executive officer last month.

Khattak's cabinet removed Chief Executive Officer TransPeshawar Altaf Durrani last month for his failure to procure the fleet of buses for the transit system and its delivery during the incumbent government's tenure, ending this month.

Protesting against the layoff, Chairman Board of Directors of TransPeshawar Javed Iqbal, Chief Finance Officer Safdar Awan and General Manager Operations and Market Development Mohammad Imran Khan tendered their resignations to the government, leaving the company without its top management.



Sources said that the K-P government wanted to launch the buses on April 20 this year, which was later changed to May 20.

Khattak was informed regarding the delay in which infuriated him and he decided to remove the CEO with the approval of his cabinet.

Durrani informed the chief minister about the testing process of the prototype buses and the report of the consultant about the testing process which needed to be approved before the bus supplier starts mass production. The entire process was to take more than a month.



Since the K-P government is yet to construct a bus depot for the BRT fleet, Durrani had also recommended against the delivery of buses before they have a proper depot for parking the buses as the alternative arrangements for the fleet and equipment would cost them heavily.

"I have no differences with the chief minister. He is the chief executive of the province and he has the right to ask about anything. Every task has its own procedures and I followed those procedures and the procedure will take its time," Durrani said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Regarding the reasons for his removal, he said that the K-P Transport Department has not cited the reasons for his removal.