PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa General Secretary Hussain Shah Yousafzai alleged that the province has been systematically plundered at the governmental level for the past 13 years.
While issuing a statement, ANP leader stated that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has turned into a worst-case scenario of administrative mismanagement, lawlessness, corruption, and sheer incompetence. In a direct jab at the current provincial cabinet, Yousafzai remarked that it is highly unfortunate that an individual who was once caught cheating red-handed in exams is today heading the provincial higher education ministry.
Responding to PTI’s historical corruption allegations against the ANP leadership, Yousafzai told the rulers to first consider what they had done themselves, considering the fact that ANP’s leadership is not presently in jail for stealing a luxury wristwatch. The ANP leader remembered how the provincial spokesperson of the ruling political party had once accused the ANP chief of corruption without any evidence, which resulted in defamation being levied upon the former minister.
ANP’s leader raised questions as to why these rulers could not hold ANP accountable while they have been in power for more than ten years.
The ANP leader questioned why the current rulers failed to hold ANP accountable despite being in power for over a decade. He stated that the provincial government initially established an accountability commission, but wrapped it up entirely the moment their own cabinet members and party lines were found deeply involved in corrupt practices.
Yousafzai pointed out that sitting ministers within the current setup have already admitted their involvement in corruption at the government level. He asked if the opposition political parties do anything about corruption worth billions of rupees in the Billion Tree Tsunami program and Malam Jabba luxury resort lease? He asked about which government approached the Supreme Court for the stay order to stop the investigation into the corruption in the Peshawar BRT project.
The general secretary pointed to recent financial irregularities, questioning whether ANP was responsible for the alleged 40 billion rupees corruption scandal in Kohistan alone. He slammed the government for showing no shame while allegedly embezzling funds meant for lifesaving medicines, mosque solarization projects, and public Ramadan relief packages.
Yousafzai warned that a new avenue for corruption and embezzlement has been opened under the guise of the “Peshawar Revitalization” project. He added that following the controversial Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) reforms, the recent hiring of doctors at an alleged bribe rate of 1.5 million rupees per post has completely exposed the system, adding that the public will never forgive those who have plundered the province’s resources.
