Balochistan corruption scam: Finance advisor resigns for transparent probe

QUETTA: Balochistan’s Finance Advisor Mir Khalid Langov stepped down from his post on Friday, paving the way for transparent investigations after a huge amount of the ill-gotten money recovered from the residence of provincial Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday recovered more than Rs730 million from the residence of Raisani, who was arrested earlier in the day. He has been accused of embezzling billions of rupees from the local government development funds.

The NAB recovered at least 12 paper cartons filled with local and foreign currency from Raisani’s residence. Sources said that according to initial count around Rs730 million worth of currency and prize bonds were recovered from the serving bureaucrat’s residence.

Speaking at a press conference here, Khalid Langov announced his resignation as Balochistan Finance Advisor saying he was stepping down to pave way for a transparent probe to kick in.

“There are no allegations against me, but my department’s secretary is facing serious corruption charges,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, spokesman for Balochistan government Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar said: “Corruption is a scourge.”

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Balochistan issued a notification suspending Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani from his post. Balochistan’s Interior Secretary Akbar Durrani was given the additional charge as Secretary Finance.

Sources in NAB told Geo News that Mushtaq Raisani possesses several properties across the country and he was arrested over alleged embezzlement of Rs1 billion. The suspect is scheduled to be presented before the NAB court on Saturday, sources added.

Raisani was arrested during a raid at his office in the Civil Secretariat in the wee hours of Friday.

The finance department was sealed during the raid while officials searched all rooms to sift through records, said sources adding that records of the finance department were also seized for further investigation.

Raisani, an influential bureaucrat in Balochistan, had been serving as secretary finance for the last few years. He served in same position during the PPP government also.

After a string of arrests in Sindh, this is the first high-profile arrest made by the accountability body in Balochistan during the PML-N government’s term as it seeks to unearth corruption worth billions of rupees in the provincial finance department’s development funds – APP/Geo