The arms procurement deal was signed with a Chinese company in 2009-10. PHOTO: FILE
In addition to his brother, former chief minister (CM) Amir Haider Khan Hoti has also been accused of receiving kickbacks. Hoti is alleged to have received large amounts of money in exchange for extending the tenure of former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) inspector general (IG) Malik Naveed.
Rs195 million was the amount reportedly ‘earned’ by padding the cost of one bullet-proof jacket to Rs55,000 from its original price of Rs48,000 while procuring arms and ammunition for K-P police, said Zahid Ayub, a witness who recorded his statement before the court of Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Ilyas Khan on Thursday.
“I handed over Rs195 million to Raza (Hoti’s relative) at the hujra of Arshad Majeed, the contractor, at a dinner,” claimed Ayub. He added he was asked to raise the amount to compensate the former chief minister, his brother Ghazan and Raza since the former IG wanted his tenure to be extended.
According to the statement, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, Ayub was once told to make a payment to one Faisal so he could purchase and install air conditioners at the house of the former police chief.
The arms procurement deal was signed with a Chinese company in 2009-10. However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) later arrested Majeed, and budget officer Javed Khan for irregularities and alleged misappropriation. Majeed then became an approver and paid NAB Rs102 million on May 22, 2012.
On June 3, Majeed confessed he bribed former IG Malik Naveed, former K-P CM Amir Haider Khan Hoti’s brother Ghazan and Hoti’s adviser Niaz Ali Shah.
At the same hearing, CPO Warehouse Inspector Abdullah Jan, Assistant Inspector CPO Hameedullah and CPO Storekeeper Gul Mashal also recorded their statements before the judicial magistrate in the presence of NAB Investigation Officer Inayatullah. They revealed irregularities in the purchase of night-vision goggles. According to their statements, Majeed produced purchase receipts before actually procuring the goggles. His receipts were recorded and the amount released. The night-vision goggles were bought in June 2009, but were supplied in September.
CPO Jan said the purchase of 18,000 AK-47s and 72,000 magazines was recorded between May 5 and May 20, 2009, but were purchased from China in August and September 2009.
A note sheet of 69,000 extra magazines worth Rs80 million was prepared after the purchase committee’s meeting upon Javed’s instructions and was approved by former police chief Malik Naveed in June of that year, but the ammunition was never purchased, said Hamidullah.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2013.
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