PPP files application in NAB against Peshawar BRT project

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has filed an application against the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Geo News has learnt that in the application filed in NAB, the PPP has argued that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has failed to complete the BRT project on time.

The party argues in the application that the provincial administration had claimed in 2017 that the cost of the project would be Rs39.5 billion and the duration for project completion would be six months. However, failure to complete the project to this day has caused serious difficulties to citizens in Peshawar, it claims. The application further argues that the cost of the project has risen from Rs39.5bn to over Rs70bn.

The application argues that, according to Article 9 of NAB laws, rise in cost of the project is a punishable criminal offence, and that thorough investigation of the matter should be carried out through a NAB reference under Article 18 of NAB laws.

The PPP has accused the KP government under the leadership of then Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak of corruption in the project, claiming that some personalities were favoured in the project in violation of rules and regulations.

The party has requested the NAB chairman to order an immediate inquiry into the matter and to uncover the 'black sheep' involved behind the corruption. It further argues that a reference be filed in the accountability court over the loss of billions of rupees in the Peshawar BRT project to the national exchequer.