PESHAWAR: Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly, Babar Saleem Swati lashed out at Finance, C&W and AG office over massive embezzlement in Kohistan upper district.
A meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Provincial Assembly Babar Saleem Swati, where alarming revelations came to light regarding a massive financial scandal in Kohistan.
During the session, it was disclosed that Rs 36 billion had been transferred from an account in Kohistan to various other accounts. Committee members expressed concerns that similar incidents may have occurred in other districts of the province, particularly in the tribal districts. It is feared that the scale of such financial misappropriations in other areas may reach up to Rs 200 billion.
Director NAB Shafqat Mahmood informed the committee that the National Accountability Bureau has been invited to investigate the matter and that an inquiry has already been initiated. “We have taken documents from the AG Office and the Communication and Works Department (C&W),” he said. He added that records have also been requested from the bank and that further investigation is underway. “If more details come to light, the committee will be informed,” stated the DG NAB.
During the meeting, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati questioned the role and responsibilities of the AG Office in the province. Responding to the query, Nasruddin, the Accountant General, explained, “Our job is to conduct both pre-audit and post-audit.”
The Speaker further inquired, “What is the job of the finance people?” To this, Nasruddin replied, “We and the Finance Department always have a dispute on this issue.”
Expressing concern over systemic lapses, the Speaker asked, “When such big officers are sitting in the system, how did such big corruption happen?” He also questioned, “Who checks these accounts at the district level?”
Nasruddin responded, “The District Accountant Officer looks after the financial matters at the district level.” When pressed on oversight during the six years of the alleged embezzlement, the AG clarified, “The District Account Officer is not a servant of the AG Office but of the Finance Department, although we deal with it.”
In conclusion, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati strongly remarked, “All these departments are involved in this corruption; they should be arrested.”
