'Massive kickbacks' behind launching loss-making projects, claims Imran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan claimed on Wednesday that a probe in the metro bus projects and Orange Line Train Metro Train project will reveal that earning massive kickbacks was the reason for "building these loss-making mega projects".

In a message on Twitter, Imran shared a report of private news channel wherein it was reported that an audit report of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metro Bus project revealed a loss of Rs5 billion to the national exchequer. 

The report stated that "unnecessary construction material costing Rs2.26 billion was obtained for the project while Rs39 crore was paid to the illegal occupants of the public property. Rs27 crore was spent in services head before the plying of the buses."

"Could have built state of the art Shaukat Khanum-style hospital with that money," Imran said in his tweet, referring to the free cancer treatment hospital he established in Lahore. 

Responding to the tweets, Punjab Government Spokesperson Malik Ahmed Khan said Imran should focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI is in power. 

He claimed that the record of transparency in the Punjab government’s projects is unparalleled. 

Malik claimed this is just another one of the PTI chief's lies, adding that Imran is in a habit of starting his day with baseless allegations.