Ministry of Housing asked to provide details of Rs9bn

ISLAMABAD (Online): The cabinet Division has directed Ministry of Housing and Works to provide the details of Rs9 billion funds doled out to three member committee headed by Captain Safdar son in law of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the source told.

The cabinet Division is under massive pressure of Public Accounts Committee which is probing Rs 9 billion corruption scam and wanted to know why such huge public funds were allocated to three member committee on the name of the development scheme without taking the parliament into confidence.

Cabinet Division secretary Ammar Masood told Khurshid Shah led Public Accounts Committee that former Nawaz Sharif had given Rds9 billion to his son in law Captain Safdar breaching the financial discipline and rules prevailing in the government.

The secretary cabinet also informed the committee that auditor General of Pakistan had also termed the doling out of Rs 9 billion is an illegal act that must be probed to identify the responsible persons involved in this scam.

On the direction PAC orders, cabinet Division had written to ministry of Housing and works secretary to furnish the details of this amounts as the execution authority of this amount was power and works department which is subsidiary department of ministry of housing.

The source told that RS 9 billion was given to selected contractors on the name of development schemes in some constituencies where the ruling party parliamentarians emerged winners but all prescribed procedure were violated in spending these funds.

The source told that Babar Bharwana federal secretary ministry housing and works is allegedly concealing the facts and record of RS 9 billion funds and showing his utter reluctance to provide the details of this massive spending because of his closeness with Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

Before joining Ministry of Housing and works, Babar Bharwana had worked in Prime Minister secretariat as additional secretary under Captain Safdar supervision and his job prescription was to monitor the development schemes of the parliamentarians which were directly approved by then PM Nawaz Sharif special orders.

The source in Cabinet Division told that PAC would be apprised about the Rs 9 billion spending when ministry of housing will provide us the relevant record as its subsidiary department is maintaining the details of disbursement of the funds.

It is pertinent to mention here that NAB had already initiated inquiry against Cap-tain Safdar Awan for misusing his authority and spending Rs 3billion in his constituency without observing the rules and procedure. Awami Muslim League president and firebrand parliamentarian Shaikh Rashid told that he has written many time to PAC secretariat and sought complete details of Rs 9 billion but so far he could not get the details of the funds release.

He said that during the coming PAC meeting he would again raised this issue in the meeting with the recommendation that the case should be transferred to NAB for investigation.

He said that the officers concerned would not give information about public funds because they are hand in gloves with the corrupt mafia who had looted public money on the name of the development.