Summary
- Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Affairs Pervez Khattak has rejected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement regarding the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project describing his remarks as contrary to the facts.
- In a statement Khattak maintained that allegations of corruption against the Peshawar BRT project were baseless.
- His statement has brought the BRT controversy back into the political spotlight with the former provincial chief executive maintaining that corruption allegations against the project do not reflect the outcome of the proceedings he cited.
Khattak said he would raise the matter directly with the prime minister during a meeting of the federal cabinet to clarify the facts surrounding the transport project.
In a statement Khattak maintained that allegations of corruption against the Peshawar BRT project were baseless. He also warned that he reserved the right to initiate legal proceedings against individuals making corruption allegations against the project.
The former chief minister clarified that no corruption case relating to the BRT project had been registered with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). He said the objections raised during the investigation concerned technical and design-related matters rather than financial irregularities.
According to Khattak the technical objections regarding the project have already been addressed while proceedings concerning the BRT have concluded at both NAB and the Peshawar High Court.
He insisted that the technical issues raised during the project’s scrutiny should not be portrayed as evidence of corruption.
Khattak’s response comes amid renewed discussion surrounding the Peshawar BRT scheme and questions about its planning implementation and accountability.
The project launched to improve public transportation in Peshawar has remained a subject of political debate particularly over concerns raised during its development.
By announcing his intention to discuss the matter in the federal cabinet Khattak has indicated that he wants to present his position directly to Shehbaz Sharif and address what he considers an inaccurate portrayal of the project’s legal and technical history.
His statement has brought the BRT controversy back into the political spotlight with the former provincial chief executive maintaining that corruption allegations against the project do not reflect the outcome of the proceedings he cited.
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