LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of his involvement in Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) scam, saying that the premier had himself given the permission for extension in it.
“There was no extension in the original plan for the Ring Road project, but the Prime Minister had himself given the permission for it,” the opposition leader said while addressing a press conference in Charsadda today (Thursday).
Shehbaz Sharif further said PM Imran had earlier defended the decision on television as not impacting the environment. “The point is, when the premier himself gave permission so when noise was raised against it then he started taking U-turn,” he added.
His remarks come days the premier ordered an inquiry into the changes in the alignment of the RRR project, which not only increased the cost of the project by Rs25 billion but also allegedly benefited some private housing societies.
“After PML-N raised its voice against the Ring Road scam, the scandal and the characters involved in it have come in front of everyone,” the PML-N president claimed.
Govt’s vaccination process
The PML-N president also criticized the PTI-led federal government for its vaccination campaign, saying that the third wave of the coronavirus had wreaked havoc due to the “incompetence” of the government.
He said that the government didn’t even arrange vaccines, adding that the government should have procured vaccines from wherever possible. He added that when concerns about the vaccines or any other issue such as inflation or poverty were raised, the government only responded with thieves in response.
The RRR scam
The fact-finding report that the commissioner had prepared in 10 days stated that some officials of Rawalpindi division, Punjab were involved in the scandal and some housing societies were benefitted when the alignment of the road was changed.
It alleged that ex-commissioner retired Capt Mehmood and suspended Land Acquisition commissioner Waseem Tabish wrongly paid Rs2.3 billion in compensation for land acquired in the Attock area.
The RRR case was referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Anti-Corruption Department of Punjab for thorough investigations on the directive of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The controversy over the project also saw the resignation of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari. Meanwhile, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar also said that if corruption charges against him were proved he would quit politics.
