RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: Government contractors of Orakzai tribal region have accused a local Xen of Works and Communication Department of discriminating in awarding of contracts of various developmental schemes and demanded of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zaffar Jhagra and political agent concerned to take notice of the injustices.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday Contractors Association Orakzai Agency President Syed Habib Orazkzai said that Xen C7W Shaukatullah Marwat was a sub-engineer about twenty years ago who was promoted to Xen level but he was never transferred from the region as per government rules.

“The official has developed personal relations with some of the contractors who is awarding them contracts in violation of rules and used to pay all the bills in advance while the other contractors who are not paying bribes have to suffer for years,” he alleged.

Flanked by other office-bearers including, Khwaja Muhammad Khan, Laiq Khan, Gul Said Khan, he said that tenders for different schemes were floated in the media but the official was in the habit to avoid opening the tenders on the prescribed date in order to dodge the rest of contractors.

“Whenever we raise any complaint against the official he allegedly sends us threats to get us arrested through the security forces,” he said and gave several examples that payments were made to contractors prior to completion of the developmental work.

The contractor said that his association in a state of compulsion had submitted a petition to the Peshawar High Court and also demanded of National Accountability Bureau to take action against the official.

Referring to government’s policy about transfers, postings, the contractor demanded immediate replacement of the official to get rid of his cruelties.