NAB arrests two in illegal appointments case against Durrani

Bukhsh is claimed to be the chief admin officer of Public Works Department


​ Our Correspondent October 17, 2019
Former KP CM Akram Khan Durrani. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has arrested two persons in illegal appointments case against former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Akram Khan Durrani.

The arrested persons have been identified as Mukhtar Bukhsh and Atif Malik.

Bukhsh is claimed to be the chief admin officer of Public Works Department (PWD).

Both the persons have been allegedly involved in illegal appointments during Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) central leader Akram Durrani’s tenure from 2002 to 2007.

The JUI-F leader and the current leader of opposition in KP Assembly are also facing charges of misuse of power and illegal allotment of land in other NAB cases.

Earlier on October 14, Durrani had failed to satisfy the anti-graft watchdog in an ongoing investigation in assets beyond means case against him.

Miftah Ismail

An accountability court has ordered provision of facilities to incarcerated former finance minister Mifath Ismail according to the jail manual.

Miftah is under the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) denied him bail extension in the LNG scandal case.

Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the petition pertaining to provision of facilities to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader in prison.

The counsel of the former finance minister requested a medical check-up of the PML-N leader and submitted a medical report.

He added that Ismail suffered from cardiac ailment and that jail authorities should provide him with better jail facilities.

The accused’s counsel also requested the court for provision of a television set and visitation rights.

LNG scandal

In 2018, the anti-corruption watchdog had initiated an inquiry against former premiers Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Nawaz Sharif over alleged misuse of authority.

Abbasi and others had been accused of illegally awarding LNG terminal contract for a period of 15 years to a company of their liking in violation of defined rules, ‘thus inflicting billions of rupees losses to the national exchequer’.

The inquiry was initiated after the NAB Karachi office closed a similar inquiry against Abbasi for his alleged role in the award of a multi-billion rupee contract for the import and distribution of LNG.

The PML-N government in its tenure from 2013-2018 completed two LNG terminals, while just days before completion of its term on May 31, it stopped the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) from going ahead with bidding for the allocation of a site for constructing a third terminal.

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