From Our Correspondent

 PESHAWAR, AUG 23 /DNA/ – Former Federal Minister , Nawabzada Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti, Hoti filed a constitutional petition in Peshawar High Court seeking Court’s direction for probe into the KP wheat scam. The Petition filed through Saleem Shah Hoti advocate has expressed no trust over the three-member Anti-Corruption Committee and dubbed it as an attempt to protect the responsible persons.

The Petitioner has arraigned  as respondents Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur, Chief Minister KP, Zahir Shah Toru, Provincial Minister for Food Peshawar, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through Chief Secretary Civil Secretary Peshawar, Secretary Food, Brig (Retd) Musadiq Abbasi, Advisor to Chief Minister KP on Anti-Corruption, Qazi Muhammad Anwar, Senior Advocate Peshawar , Member Anti-Corruption Committee, Shah Farman, Former Governor KP and Member Anti-Corruption Committee , Shakeel Ahmad MPA , Muhammad Atif Khan PTI MNA, Junaid Akber PTI MNA, Director Food, Director General, Anti-Corruption Establishment KP, Chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) , Islamabad and Director General, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), KP. 

The Petitioner said that the total population of KP has been estimated as 40.8 million and the total wheat requirement is 124 Kg/ per head per annum which comes to 5.059 million metric tons.  As per the Agriculture Department the expected local production of wheat was estimated as 1.500 million metric ton (30 %). Hence the shortfall was estimated as 3.559 million Metric tons. In order to overcome the shortfall, the KP government decided to purchase 3.5 million metric tons of wheat from open markets of Punjab and KP after the approval of Chief Minister KP, he added.

Khwaja Hoti said that in view of above the Food Department had established 21 wheat procurement centres at Peshawar, Nowshera, Swabi, Charsadda, Mardan, Malakand, Buner, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Swat, Haripur, Abbottabad, Battagram, Kohistan, Mansehra, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and D.I. Khan. In order to oversee, he continued,  the procurement process, ‘Monitoring Committees’ comprising the respective Deputy Commissioners and District Food Controllers had been established. He contended that the officers of NAB and Anti-Corruption Establishment were also included; however they reportedly distanced themselves from these Committees after alleged allegations of corrupt practices and irregularities.

“ The KP government had set the price of 40 Kg of wheat at Rs 3900/- and had capped the purchase limit from each dealer and farmer at 500 tons on the pretext of transparency” he further said. Hoti said that government had to purchase 0.6 million metric tons of wheat for the years 2024-25. As such 0.3, he maintained,  million metric tons of wheat  from open markets in Punjab and KP and another 0.3 million metric tons wheat from Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation ( PASSCO).  He alleged that market price of 100 kg wheat in Punjab was Rs 8000/- but the same quantity had been procured at Rs 9750 or more excessive prices. The brokers exploited this discrepancy in process and they with collaboration with Respondents No 1, 2 , Chief Minister and Food Minister and Food Department while buying the wheat cheaply from Punjab’s farmers sold out the same quantity at exorbitant and inflated prices to the KP Government, Which caused losses to tunes of billion rupees to the government exchequer.

He contended that in the wake of the alleged wheat scandal unearthed the four officers of Food Department have been suspended and one DFC in Kohat was removed as per reports.

Hoti accused Chief Minister and Food Minister and host of others are allegedly involved in this mega corruption scandal and the former were hell-bent to protect themselves and others from legal action through self-proclaimed Anti-Corruption Committee .He alleged KP Chief Minister for hushing up the matter through the establishment of  a three-member Anti-Corruption Committee, including Brig (Retd) Musadique Abbasi, Qazi Muhammad Anwar and Shah Farman.

The Anti-Corruption Committee members are the hard-core members of ruling PTI and handpicked persons of the Chief Minister. The Committee has recently inquired the corruption charges leveled against the a Provincial Minister Shakeel Ahmad and on the recommendations of this Committee, the Chief Minister  has de-notified the provincial Minister, Shakeel Ahmad. The Committee has recently started inquiry in ‘wheat Scandal’ and the provincial Food Minister  has been summoned to appear before it.

 He flayed that this Committee has no legal and constitutional status and it has been toeing the lines of the Chief Minister and Food Minister which is aimed at protecting the big players in the wheat scandal and as such this committee has no legal sanctity and public trust. Therefore this politicized and handpicked committee has lost its worth to inquire the matter.

The petitioner asked the Court to halt the proceedings of the anti-corruption committee  and direct the NAB to make transparent inquiry/investigation into the mega Wheat Scam.