KP corruption? Khattak accepts resignation of official to interrupt financial probe

PESHAWAR (News Desk) - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khatak has allegedly accepted the resignation of the chairman of the board of directors (BoD) of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO), reportedly halting an inquiry into the illegal award of contracts by the body which have caused losses worth millions of rupees to the public exchequer.

According to reports, former PEDO chairman Shakeel Durrani had resigned two months ago. Durrani's resignation was, however, only accepted this Tuesday, Dawn reported.

In a statement, Durrani said that if his resignation had not been accepted, he would have headed a meeting to order two inquiries into the loss of Rs. 40 million per month from the exchequer due to delays in construction of transmission lines for the Machai and Ranolia power projects.

The projects were started by Awami National Party-led provincial government and completed in July 2015, however, they have remained unproductive due to the absence of transmission lines.

This is not the first time that public servants in the province have alleged political interference by the KP government. Earlier, Director General of the KP Ehtesab Commission General (r) Hamid Khan had also resigned after accusing the provincial government of diluting his powers and effectively making accountability impossible.

The Ehtesab Commission was the PTI-led KP government's much-trumpeted answer to the high incidence of corruption in the province. However, the KP assembly later passed amendments to the law under which the Commission was formed, allegedly diluting its powers and making it easier to get away with corruption.