PESHAWAR - Director General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ehtisab Commission Lt-Gen (r) Hamid Khan resigned over differences with provincial government after approval of the amendment in draft ordinance of KP Ehtisab Commission Act 2014.
The KP government has approved to amend the draft ordinance which will make it mandatory to seek the permission of the government before arresting any accused on charges of corruption. The director general termed the amendment an attempt to curtail his powers and clip his wings to arrest any corrupt official.
In his resignation letter, Lt-Genl (r) Hamid Khan conveyed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan that KP Ehtisab Commission was established under ‘KPEC Act 2014’ and by the grace of Allah within short period not only the commission was established but made operational and reference have been filed in the court.
He said that in less than two years the commission conducted 90 inquiries, 43 investigations with 13 references and for the first time in the history of Pakhtunkhwa powerful ministers and bureaucrats were arrested.
He said he had not joined the commission for emolument but to transform the society.
“I have serious differences with interpretation of the Act which resulted in persistent interference in the operational matters, and that is against the spirit of the Act. This issue cannot be resolved because of nonexistence of any mechanism for the purpose,” he stated in his resignation.
He said he had also reservations over Anti-Corruption Establishment which according to the Act was part of Ehtisab Commission but actually it was not the case, while National Accountability Bureau’s jurisdiction after 18th Amendment was restricted to federal agencies and department but it was also interfering in the matters of Ehtisab Commission.
The letter further says that the government had approved the draft of the ordinance to bring amendment in Ehtisab Commission, which will ultimately curtail the powers and functioning of Ehtisab Commission.
APP adds: Federal Minister for Information Pervaiz Rashid said the Director General KP Accountability Commission had resigned against PTI chief's deceiving the people in the name of accountability and prevalent corruption in KPK government.
Talking to media persons at the Parliament House, he said Justice (r) Wajeehuddin had parted ways from PTI because Imran Khan was supporting those who had committed rigging in intra-party elections.
He said that Imran Khan had implemented some rules for KPK hospitals which were approved by the Chief Minister of Punjab adding that Imran Khan should become his disciple.
Moreover, he had adopted some rules for improvement in education sector which were adopted by Punjab Government.
The minister said that the Chairman Accountability Commission had tendered resignation from his post as PTI chief was pressuring him for releasing his party minister who had been arrested on corruption charges.
He said that the arrested minister had threatened the party of exposing their corruption as he was insider and knew all the details.
The minister said that Chairman Accountability Commission, formed by Imran himself, Hamid had said Imran Khan was deceiving the masses in the name of the accountably in the province.
He said that PTI leadership had many faces but their real face had been exposed before the people. The PTI leadership had been trying to befool the people by hollow slogans. They had claimed to eliminate corruption from the province within 90 days but like their sit-ins, their claims had evaporated in the air.
He said Imran Khan was trying to hide corruption of the arrested minister by the Accountability Commission.
He said the Accountability Bureau in Islamabad was working effectively, independently and without any discrimination to achieve good results.
He said that whenever the country started journey towards progress and prosperity, Imran Khan and his party started creating hurdles. Imran should learn a lesson from the PML-N leadership and its members of Parliament.
The World Bank President has appreciated the economic policies of the government which had baffled the PTI leadership.
He said that if people gave mandate to the PML-N in KP, they would be given a chief minister just like the one in Punjab.
He said that under the reforms done in KP Accountability Commission, permission was required to arrest any minister or member of Provincial Assembly.
This law was discriminatory where Imran Khan and his cronies were above the law which showed his duplicity. In KPK even those who did not donate for Shaukat Khanum Hospital, they were put behind the bars.
Talking about Imran Khan's claim of change in the KPK, Pervaiz Rashid said that people had witnessed two and half years performance of the PML-N government.