NAB, KP Anti-Corruption Establishment spar over credit for forest land recovery

PESHAWAR: A turf war has erupted between the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Anti-Corruption Establishment Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) over credit for the recovery of 511 kanals of forest department land in Bahrain, Swat.

Last week, the Anti-Corruption Establishment Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issued a press release claiming that 511 kanals of forest department land in Swat’s Bahrain area had been retrived from private individuals and handed back to the forest department.

It was clarified that this action was taken on the instructions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Adviser on Anti-Corruption Brig (retd) Mussadiq Abbasi.

However, NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials said that the land in question was transferred to the forest department on July 31, and the Anti-Corruption Establishment took credit for its recovery on August 9.

According to NAB officials, they initiated the inquiry into the forest land in 2018 and completed it in August 2023. As a result, they said, 333 kanals of land were initially recovered from private individuals and handed over to the forest department. Following this, NAB’s director general initiated another inquiry to identify additional land, they said.

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On the other hand, Anti-Corruption Establishment officials questioned why, if they (NAB) started the inquiry in 2018, it took them five years to complete it.

In contrast, they contended, the Anti-Corruption Establishment took action within a month and transferred the 511 kanals of land to the forest department through the revenue department.

Anti-Corruption Establishment officials have clarified their position, stating that 511 kanals of forest land in Tehsil Bahrain, Swat, have been legally returned to the forest department.

They asserted that this case was unrelated to NAB’s previous inquiry, which only corrected the records for 26 kanals and 7 marlas of land. The Anti-Corruption Establishment did not claim credit for that land in their recovery report, they said.

Anti-Corruption Establishment officials further explained that they began an inquiry into the illegal transfer of forest department land in January 2024. By May 2024, the case involving the 511 kanals of land was finalised on the instructions of the adviser for anti-corruption.

When contacted for their position regarding credit for the recovery of the Behrain forest land, forest department officials stated that the NAB had initiated the original inquiry, leading to the recovery of the land.

In response to this claim, Anti-Corruption Establishment officials argued that the forest department officials were making such statements under pressure from NAB, which had no involvement in the recovery.

They further claimed that the forest department officials’ statements were a result of actions taken against them by the Anti-Corruption Establishment.

They said that the action was carried out by Anti-Corruption Establishment with the cooperation of the revenue department.