ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said if the allegations levelled against him in the scandal of the Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) project were proved, he would quit politics.
Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Saturday said the Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) project should be launched this year as it held “national importance” and it was a flagship project of the ruling PTI which shouldn’t be dropped.
While addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi on Saturday, the minister said he said called on the cabinet and PM Imran to get an inquiry carried out by the relevant institutions and agencies NAB and Federal investigation Agency and urged “action against whoever is found involved in the scam.”
The minister said he was not calling for the project to be launched according to the alleged changes to its alignment, which have stirred debate, however, “whatever is decided by the probing institutions”.
The aviation minister said, “Whatever position you have to do, the project should be started soon since this is a plan of national importance. It’s a flagship project of the PTI government and is most important for the people of Punjab.
“We will not permit it to fall prey to any plot,” the minister said, reiterating his call for the project to be started even if the changes to its alignment were canceled or even if inquiries continued.
The aviation minister said “All these conspiracies, discussions in the media and attempts of the opposition to turn it into a scandal; there will be no scandal and this project of national importance will be started and will reach completion.”
He said if corruption charges against him were proved, he would quit politics and denied that he or his family had any links with the housing societies from which the government had acquired land for the project, adding “I am not running away from the investigation.”
Sarwar said he had presented himself before the authorities and reiterated that neither he nor his family had any relation to the realignment, adding that he did not have any association in the purchase of land near the scheme of the road.
He said PM Imran had told him that his name wasn’t even in the reports submitted to him and thus there was no need for his previous press conference on the issue. “I said my name is certainly not in the report however, this discussion is part of media and social media and I am a public representative and I have to clear myself,” he added.
PM Imran had ordered an inquiry into the changes in the alignment of the project, which had not only increased the cost of the project by Rs25 billion but also allegedly benefited some private housing societies and corrupt government officials.
The RRR case was referred to NAB and the Anti-Corruption Department of Punjab for thorough investigations on the directive of Prime Minister Imran Khan after two separate fact-finding reports — one from the Rawalpindi commissioner and the other from the deputy commissioner and additional commissioner — had landed in his office.
These reports propose the alignment plan of the road was increased to 23 kilometers to benefit private housing societies and thus, the government had to release funds worth Rs20 billion to buy additional land.
The controversy over the project also saw the resignation of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari over allegations that he was among the beneficiaries of the road’s changed alignment.
Opposition parties claim several government officials including, Sarwar Khan also benefitted from the road’s realignment as his lands were near the project.
Sources said that Ghulam Sarwar Khan surely involved in corruption of the Ring Road project, adding that all the evidence in the form of documents is with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Sources said that Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan was repeatedly trying to contact the Prime Minister to suppress the inquiry. Ghulam Sarwar Khan has formally recommended to Jahangir Tareen to ask the Prime Minister to remove his name from the FIA Anti-Corruption and NAB inquiry, sources added.
