PESHAWAR: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has closed inquiry about alleged corruption in purchase of drugs procured during the peak of Covid-19 by health department.

In a letter sent to the secretary of health department, it said that based on the finding of final inquiry report and the recommendations of regional board meeting, the competent authority recommended the case for closure.

The letter entitled “closure of inquiry against officers/officials of health department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and others regarding corruption in procurement of goods for Covid-19” said that the closure of the inquiry would not affect any other case, if already under investigation, and should not prevent initiating any new case under the Ordinance.

Sources in health department told Dawn that the inquiry was launched three years ago but after amendments incorporated into NAB law, corruption with less than Rs500 million could not be probed by the accountability watchdog and therefore the inquiry was closed.

According to amended law, the watchdog can’t probe corruption of less than Rs500m

They said that health department had purchased medicines and equipment worth more than Rs3 billion during Covid-19 for which the government implemented public health emergency to ensure rapid procurement of medical equipment and strict implementation of standard operating procedure to prevent spread of the pandemic in the province.

The emergency was first enforced in February 2020 when the pandemic broke out. It was meant to ensure prompt procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs) along with medicines for effective management of Covid-19 pandemic in the province.

Sources said that the government had invoked Public Health (Surveillance and Response) Act, 2017, to be able to acquire medical supplies and other resources in speedy manner and put brakes on possible transmission of the virus.

It was extended every four months to relax normal procedures of procurement and resource availability to help relevant authorities to take quick measures unlike normal procedure that takes longer to procure medicines and other items.

Source said that there was little chance for accountability as the situation at that time was highly critical and the then chief minister had approved extension of emergency on the recommendation of health department to purchase the required medicines and equipment for hospitals and at the same time give legal cover to the activities of the administration to strictly enforce adherence to standard operating procedure for Covid-19. It gave legal protection to the measures taken by the administration, they added.

They said that timely extension of emergency had enabled health department to procure emergency drugs and provide the same to hospitals in the province.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Taimur Khan Jhagra, who was health minister at that time, said that it was the only case in which he was called as a witness by NAB in October last year, when his party leaders were forced into hiding after May 9. He said that he was sent a set of questions to answer.

“It was also one of the cases used to try to malign my reputation from the last days of our government by those whose job is to malign reputations,” he said.

He recalled going to NAB, at the end of October, against the advice of his legal team that thought that it could be a trap for an arrest leading to a ‘press conference’. He said that he told his legal team that he had nothing to hide and his personal financial integrity was something that he held dearest therefore it didn’t matter if he was arrested.

“Ironically, this was also one of the cases in which rumours were spread by certain colleagues of mine. Sadly, our politics will always remain a place in which you have to not just look out for the actions of your foes, but even more of your friends,” said Mr Jhagra.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2024