Huge defaults found in G-B House payments

Sources say majority of the defaulters belong to PML-Q, aggregate outstanding amount in billions.

GILGIT: A parliamentary committee, constituted to probe alleged irregularities in the affairs of Gilgit-Baltistan House in Islamabad, has submitted its report, highlighting defaults of millions of rupees by politicians in recent years.

“The committee headed by Raziuddin, a lawmaker, has acquired documentary evidence proving irregularities committed by various politicians belonging to the region over the past few years,” official sources told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

The committee was formed by Speaker of Gilgit-baltistan Legislative Assembly Wazir Baig more than a month ago after complaints of irregularities emerged against local politicans belonging to the former PML-Q government.

The region’s politicians, who have official business in Islamabad, are allowed to stay in these lodgings in the federal capital at a subsidised rate.

But according to information gathered from various sources, the politicians occupied rooms not only for themselves but also accommodated their friends and relatives without paying anything for months. “Majority of the defaulters belonged to the PML-Q,” said a source, adding that a lawmaker of the same party from the Hunza-Nagar area owed more than Rs200,000 to these facilities. They said that these politician not only refused to pay the room rent, but on many occasions did not pay their food bills.

“The aggregate outstanding amount is in billions,” sources said.

The 28-page inquiry report also recommended an audit of the lodgings and recommends strict action against government officials managing the house in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2010.