Daily Times

QUETTA – Political atmosphere was tense in the Balochistan Assembly as the opposition walked out Saturday, saying it would continue to do so as long as the provincial cabinet was in function.

Saturday’s session saw heated debate in the provincial assembly regarding arrest of the finance secretary, with former chief minister Abdul Malik Baloch saying he was unaware of the corruption during his two-and-a-half year tenure as the chief minister.

“I was unaware of the whole corruption situation. I think the measures NAB has taken against corruption are positive and they should continue,” he told the assembly.

Informing the provincial legislature that he wanted across the board accountability, the former chief minister said, “I’m ready to present myself before the bureau.”

Mir Khalid Humayun Langau, who had announced his resignation as the finance adviser a day earlier, rose in support of Baloch, saying, “If he (Baloch) has even done corruption of one lakh rupees, I will resign.”

He also said that “being the finance adviser” he was somewhat responsible for the corruption in Balochistan as he was “unable to monitor the situation carefully”.

In a major development Friday, NAB seized more than Rs 730 million from the residence of Balochistan Finance Secretary Mushtaq Ahmed Raisani, who was arrested earlier in the day.

Officials said that Rs 730 million worth of national and foreign currency and prize bonds were recovered from the serving bureaucrat’s residence. The finance department was sealed during the raid and Raisani was arrested from his office.