Punjab minister Sibtain Khan resigns after NAB arrest

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Mohammad Sibtain Khan has resigned as Minister of Punjab for Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries on Saturday after National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested him in corruption case.

According to reports, the resignation has been forwarded to Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar.

NAB will present Sibtain Khan in accountability court today to appeal for his 15-day physical remand.

PTI leader Sibtain Khan is accused of awarding illegal contract worth billions of rupees in Chiniot in 2007 when he was serving as provincial Minister of Punjab for Mines and Minerals. No other company was considered during the bidding process for the contract, NAB Lahore said.

It is pertinent here to mention that Khan was elected to the Punjab Assembly as an independent candidate from Constituency PP-39 (Mianwali-IV) in general election, 1990.

He received 29,582 votes and defeated a candidate of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI). He served as provincial Minister of Punjab for Prison from 1990 to 1993.

He ran for the seat of the provincial assembly as an independent candidate from Constituency PP-39 (Mianwali-IV) in Pakistani general election, 1997, but was unsuccessful.

He was re-elected to the provincial assembly as a candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) from Constituency PP-46 (Mianwali-IV) in 2002.

In January 2003, he was inducted into the provincial cabinet of Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and was appointed as Provincial Minister of Punjab for Mines and Minerals till 2007.