Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: In a major relief for the ruling party-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, the Supreme Court annulled on Tuesday the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) verdict allowing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate the alleged corruption in the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
Declaring the decision null and void, the top court accepted the plea of the provincial government against a probe through the top anti-graft watchdog.
In its decision, the SC observed that NAB wouldn’t be able to investigate the matter because PHC’s verdict was based on speculation. The court also restrained the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from investigating the case, and extended the stay earlier granted to the government and the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) in this regard.
During the hearing, petitioner Adnan Afridi implored that there were reservations regarding the project. At this, Justice Muneeb Akhtar asked the petitioner whether he would be satisfied if the officers concerned addressed his reservations.
The apex court allowed the PDA a period of one month to submit its response based on additional documents in the case.
