K-P’s anti-graft department sacks 105 ‘corrupt’ officers

Body had received complaints that its officers were involved in illegal practices

PESHAWAR: Before it can tackle corruption elsewhere, the provincial anti-graft department has sacked 105 of its own employees after receiving complaints from senior officials about their illicit practices.

According to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), the department has initiated action against its own employees after it received complaints from senior officials that some individuals were involved in corrupt practices apart from influencing investigations and misusing their authority.

Officials said that apart from keeping track of corruption in other government departments, the ACE was also keeping a close eye on corrupt elements within the department.

The department had received multiple complaints against several employees of the departments and that these complaints were secretly probed.

“There were complaints against many people and since we wanted to come up with solid evidence, we kept things hidden and continued watching them quietly,” a senior ACE official told The Express Tribune.

The official, who did not wish to be named since he was not entitled to speak to media, stated that it took them 10 months to collect evidence against the corrupt employees.

Based on this evidence, around 105 employees of ACE who were involved in corrupt practices were identified.

Some of the employees faced departmental inquiries while others, especially those who were on deputation and serving at ACE, were repatriated to their original departments.

“Some, however, surrendered and have charged,” the official stated, adding that individuals were involved in corruption and misuse of authority.

“This is still going on and, in fact, this is the first time where a department has taken action against its own employees,” the official stated, adding, “I hope it discourages corrupt practices but we are still carrying it on and whoever is found guilty, will have to face the consequences.”

After its election in August, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led K-P government had decided to close its flagship accountability body, the K-P Ehtesab Commission in September.

“It did its job,” Yousufzai had explained in early September as he announced the provincial government’s decision to shut down the provincial anti-graft watchdog.

He had added that the parallel body had been set up because the federal anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), was not answerable to it in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2018.