PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader and former provincial finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra has alleged that its former lawmakers are being pressured by the provincial anti-graft body to change loyalty.

In a written “complaint” to caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan, Mr Jhagra alleged that the cases were filed by the anti-corruption establishment against the former PTI MPAs to defect.

He demanded of the caretaker chief minister to terminate ACE director Mohammad Arif Khan from service over ‘gross misconduct.’

On July 5, the ACE registered a first information report against seven former PTI MPAs, including Mehmood Jan, Kamran Bangash, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Ishtiaq Urmar, Fazal Ilahi, Asif Khan and Pir Mohammad over the alleged misuse of power and corrupt practices.

Jhagra urges CM to remove ACE director over ‘gross misconduct’

The former lawmakers were booked under Section 409 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. On Thursday, Mr Jhagra lodged a formal complaint with the caretaker chief minister about it.

The complaint, a copy of which is available with Dawn, read that the content of the FIR demonstrated that the case was lodged to pressure former legislators to change allegiance to the PTI.

It added that the FIR violated several provisions of the PCA and ACE Rules, 1999.

In the complaint, the PTI leader claimed that the violation of law and “infirmities in the FIR proved” that the FIR was lodged to victimise the accused, an act that amounted to misconduct as laid down in the KP Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1987.

He also said the provisions of Section 5(2) of the PCA, 1947, which pertained to the punishment for criminal misconduct, were applicable to government employees only.

“As elected officials, the accused are not by any yardstick public servants under Section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which is the section of law that defines Public Servant,” he said in the complaint.

Mr Jhagra said that no role whatsoever was assigned to any of the accused in the FIR indicating that no evidence of any wronging was available against them and that in the instant case, an open inquiry was conducted on the directions of the ACE director, while the FIR was lodged on the recommendation of a joint investigation team.

“The concept of the JIT is alien to CrPC or PCA, 1947, and therefore, the lodging of FIR on the recommendation of the JIT constitutes gross illegality. As per R.3 of the ACE Rules, 1999, an open inquiry could only be undertaken by the establishment division and not by the ACE director,” he said.

The PTI leader said that the ACE director’s role was just to verify the identity of the complainant and ascertain the genuineness of the complaint, so he violated the law by arrogating to himself the powers of the Establishment Division.

He insisted that acts of the ACE director violated R.27 of the KP Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1987, as they appeared to “aid and assist” the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led federal government to influence the upcoming general elections.

Mr Jhagra alleged that director ACE’s actions were assisting efforts to influence elections, and Section 187 of the Elections Act, 2017, clearly provided that a person in the service of Pakistan is guilty of violation of official duty in connection with an election if he or she misuses official position in a manner calculated to influence the results of the election.

“You are welcome to look at my pay slips to see that if financial reward were what motivated me, then I had no need to quit being a partner of the largest consulting firm in the world, to try to hold public office and carry out petty corruption,” he said.

The PTI leader said that he hoped the complaint would be treated with the seriousness it deserved, and that it won’t be marked and consigned to the file cabinet like so many others.

He also requested the chief minister to investigate his complaint, remove the ACE director from his position, initiate disciplinary proceedings, and dismiss him from service for “gross misconduct.”

When contacted, ACE officials rejected the complaint and said that the cases were not new and that they’re filed when the PTI ruled the province.

They also insisted that all cases were filed in line with the law.

“None of these cases are new and we have filed all cases according to the law,” a senior ACE official told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2023