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‘Misuse of state helicopters’: NAB says unofficial fliers cost KP govt Rs90m

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  • NAB writes to KP government to recover money.
  • Since 2008, as many as 2,000 people used KP chopper.
  • KP govt legislating to legalise private use of helicopters.

PESHAWAR: Having completed its probe into the illegal use of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s helicopters, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has revealed that those, who engaged the chopper for private use, owe Rs90 million to the provincial administration, sources said on Monday.

They added NAB had also written to the KP government to recover the cost of all the illegal helicopter trips taken by “influential politicians, public officeholders” and others.

At least 2,000 people had travelled in state helicopters since 2008.

The helicopters were used by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, former and current provincial/federal ministers including others.

Former and incumbent members of provincial and national assemblies and officials of political parties also travelled in helicopters, the sources said, adding that chief secretaries, secretaries and other government employees were also among the flyers.

Last month, the KP government announced it had prepared a draft to amend laws regarding the use of its helicopters and other matters in the province.

Following the amendment, no one will be able to question the chopper’s use including who uses it and why is it being used.

According to the amendment draft, the use of the government’s helicopter from November 2008 till date will be considered legal and valid.  No question could be raised regarding the use of the chopper, which would be allowed to be rented out. However, permission for personal use would have to be sought from the province’s chief minister.

The draft states that the government’s helicopter, apart from its use by the chief minister, can also be used by ministers, advisers, special assistants or government officials.

Approval of the amendment bill has been included in the agenda of the provincial assembly’s next meeting, according to the sources.

Talking to Geo News, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Labour Minister Shaukat Yousafzai denied that the helicopters were ever used for private purposes.

“Choppers were used for only government work. No minister or officer in the past or now has used them for personal work,” Yousafzai said, adding, “In this case, NAB is hounding KP government for no reason”.

The KP minister questioned why was NAB not doing anything against the corruption of the Sharif and Zardari families. 

“Amendments in the law related to helicopters are being made for the betterment of the people,” Yousafzai added.

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Sheikh Rashid claims he doesn’t communicate with the PTI’s founder or any other leader.

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Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the president of the Pakistan Awami Muslim League and former interior minister, claims not to be in contact with the founder or any other leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

In an interview with media outside the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, he said that only Shibli Faraz was qualified to discuss talks between the PTI and the Establishment.

Regarding the deputy prime minister position, he stated that Pakistan’s constitution did not contain such a clause. He chided that “only the Jati Umra constitution offers the slot of deputy prime minister.”

He predicted that Pakistan would have an economic crisis within the next two months. “Industrialists are already facing tough conditions and now growers are up in arms,” he claimed.

He claimed that the purchasing of wheat had not yet started and that the general public’s financial situation was appalling.

The former federal minister reaffirmed that prisoners should be released from custody if they are innocent and unrelated to crimes.

He requested that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) be made aware of the wheat scam right now.

The following two months would be critical for Pakistani politics, thus he asked the administration to reconsider its policy.

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“I never left PTI,” says Fawad Chaudhry, doing a U-turn.

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Fawad Chaudhry, a former federal minister, claimed that he remained a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Speaking to the media outside Rawalpindi’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Tuesday, the former minister claimed that the current administration lacks credibility because of its stance on the Form-47.

The senior lawmaker declared, “If Maulana Fazl ur Rehman and PTI join hands, the government cannot even last for three months.”

He went on to say that an election that was manipulated led to the formation of the administration.

“We want to bring down the political temperature because we are going through a difficult time,” Fawad stated.

The former minister claimed he had not yet shared his narrative because he would do so at the appropriate moment.

“I’m very happy to have met all of my pals today. May we all go forward towards a typical circumstance,” he said in closing.

The prominent politician had previously stated that she left PTI following the bloodshed on May 9 of last year.

In a news conference last year, Fawad Chaudhry, the senior vice president of PTI, announced his departure from the organisation and his intention to take a sabbatical from politics.

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The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

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A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

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