NAB probe: KP CM not off the hook yet

No clean chit has been given to the KP chief minister: NAB

PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday refuted the claim of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan that the anti-graft watchdog had given him the clean chit in the ongoing Malam Jabba land investigation.

Chief Minister Khan said claimed on Monday in Peshawar that he had been given a clean chit in the Malam Jabba land lease case after he appeared before the accountability watchdog. He said that he was summoned by NAB as a witness and not an accused.

The anti-corruption watchdog had also summoned the Culture Minister Atif Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohsin Aziz for their alleged involvement in the leasing of a 275 kanal plot in Malam Jabba to Atif’s relative, which according to NAB officials, incurred losses to the national kitty.

In a press release on Tuesday, NAB stated that “no clean chit has been given to the KP chief minister, adding that the statement of the chief minister to combined investigation team was unsatisfactory. “NAB can summon the chief minister at any time in accordance with the law,” the statement added.

Reacting to the statement, KP Provincial Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said that if NAB was not satisfied with the chief minister's statement, it could call him again. "The chief minister respects the institutions, and he is willing to appear before NAB again," he added.

"Chief Minister Mahmood Khan will appear before NAB until it was satisfied with his replies. NAB can ask him anything. He has no link to the Malam Jabba land case. He did not sign any document related to this deal," he said.

Responding to a question about the chief minister's statement that he had been given "clean chit" by NAB, Yousafzai said that the investigation officer did not say anything about calling the chief minister again.