PESHAWAR - A team of National Accountability Bureau Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa held detailed meeting with relevant officials as part of investigations into alleged embezzlement of funds in Billion Tree Tsunami project.

As per details, NAB KP initiated probe into Billion Tree Tsunami project and formed a team of officers to conduct probe into alleged embezzlement of funds in the project, a statement said.

In this connection, a briefing was given by the concerned officers of Forest department to NAB DG Farmanullah Khan, which was also attended by directors, ADPGA and the concerned CIT. The Forest department team included Secretary Forest, Chief Conservator (Region-I), Project Director Billion Tree Tsunami and Monitoring and Evaluation officials of the Forest department.

NAB KP team asked detailed questions regarding different aspects of the projects such as allocation and utilisation of the funds, saplings and self-growing seeds, procurement of plants, procedure for plantation, free distribution, hiring of conservators, procedure for payment and other aspects of the project.

DOCTORS WARN OF PROTEST IF ISSUES NOT RESOLVED

Provincial Doctor’s Association, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa expressed concerns over the KP government’s alleged indifferent attitude towards doctors’ issues and warned of launching a protest campaign if their issues were not resolved.

Speaking at a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, the association provincial president, Dr Amir Taj, said that KP government had completely failed to provide protection to the doctors’ community, due to which incidents of kidnapping for ransom, harassment and killing of doctors were regularly occurring in the province, he said. He urged that the proposed security bill should be passed immediately by the provincial assembly to ensure protection to life and property of doctors’ community and rest of medical staffs.

Dr Amir Taj said that the KP government had passed several laws in health sector without consulting relevant stakeholders, which has created great hindrance in provision of best healthcare to people, he said. He mentioned that the Health Care Commission was created with mandate to end quackery in the province, but it launched crackdowns on clinics of qualified doctors and was harassing them, which, he said, was completely unjust. He said that there was no check on the performance of the healthcare commission.

The PDA president regretted that PTI-led KP government had failed to make amendments in existing Medical Officer Act, despite the passage of 4 and half years of its rule. He demanded that the proposed amendments should be passed by the provincial assembly immediately.

Flanked by PDA provincial vice president, Dr Zubair, Dr Shehraz, and Fazl Manaan, Dr Amir Taj said that the post-graduate medical institutes should ensure induction of TMOs twice a year as per CPSP criteria, saying that any delaying tactics were unacceptable to them. Otherwise, he warned that they would take to streets against the PGMI.

The association president also said that doctors had been appointed on contract basis in 1995, who were deprived of their rights as per their seniority and demanded to give them all due rights. He said that the doctors’ residences were yet not vacated from MPAs, DC, ADC and other officials despite the efforts of the Health Directorate, and DG Health office. He asked the authorities to vacate the official houses and handover the same to the deserving doctors.

Dr Taj also voiced concern over irregularities in MTI Bannu and MTI DI Khan. He added that the PDA would soon give a strike call in this regards. He also objected to the appointment of non-doctors on administrative positions in MTIs in the province, which, he said, was against the rules of the PMDC, adding that doctors should be inducted on these posts to smoothly run affairs at medical facilities.