A parliamentary body on Tuesday urged the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) authorities to cooperate with it in an inquiry against KPT for not holding an external audit of its accounts for the last five years otherwise they would send the case for investigation to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The Sub-Committee of the Standing Committee on Ports and Shipping, which met with Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema in the chair, asked the KPT authorities to provide all details and inform the committee that why internal audit was delayed for such a long time before the next meeting; otherwise, the committee would send the case to NAB for an investigation. The meeting was also attended by Malik Muhammad Aamir Dogar and senior officials of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping. Cheema said he strongly recommends to send this case to NAB as KPT is a national institution.
"Action will be taken against the responsible people whether it happened when MQM leader Babar Ghuri was Minister for Ports and Shipping, by the Sindh government or the federal government," he said. Muhammad Salman Khan Baloch said the matter should be investigated. Baloch also alleged that four nephews of Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Kamran Michael and a niece of Chairman KPT have been recently appointed in KPT.
Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli said that KPT is a big institution and delaying its external audit for a long time is a serious crime. She said that encroachment and illegal allotment of port land by the KPT constitute another big issue. "The KPT has so far not implemented a single recommendation of the committee therefore they should submit a report in this regard," she said.