Whistleblower Law in KP on the cards to curb corruption, illegal activity: Law Minister
Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi advocate on Tuesday disclosed that KP government was working on a “Whistleblower Law” aimed at exposing elements involved in corruption, misconduct and illegal activities in any public sector organisation.
Under this law, the minister said any person or government employee who would identify misconduct, professional dishonesty or illegal activities including corruption in any organization with evidence would be given a specific share from the money to be recovered from the corrupt elements and his/her name would also be kept secret.
“The government would provide full protection to the Whistleblower,” he asserted.
He said the idea of whistle blowing is like an early warning system to nip the evil in the bud and curb the corruption, adding that it would encourage government employees to work with honesty, dedication and commitment.
He said another bill, “The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prevention of Conflict of Interest Bill 2015” has been introduced in KP Assembly to prevent and minimise the possibility of conflict between private interest and public duties of public office holders.
Under the bill, the minister said, an elected minister and MPA would be barred from doing private business while taking mileage of their official position, adding that the bill is unprecedented in the parliamentary history of the country.
When it was pointed out to him that 28,053 cases had piled up with the Peshawar High Court, the minister admitted that backlog was a big issue and said that he would soon meet with the Peshawar High Court chief justice to seek his advice for formulation of a comprehensive strategy for quick disposal of these pending cases.
The law minister said that unnecessary litigations and delay on part of lawyers were among the major reasons for backlog, adding public prosecutors have been strictly instructed to fully prepare the cases and avoids unnecessary adjournments.
“We have accorded high priority to legislation and over 75 per cent legislations were made in the interest of public service,” he noted, adding that among the key legislations of the KP administration was Right to Information, LG Acts and Ehtesab Commission.
The minister dispelled the impression, which he said the opposition was creating in assembly, that the Ehtesab Commission was constituted for political victimisation, saying, “If sitting minister of the PTI can be arrested than anyone can be nabbed if they are found guilty of looting taxpayers’ money.”
To a question, he admitted that jails in KP are overcrowded and more jails are required for addressing this issue.
The hardcore prisoners from overcrowded central jails like the one in Peshawar are being shifted to Mardan and Haripur jails.
He said that the government was considering to pay “Diyyat” (blood money) amount of those prisoners who are just languishing in jails for non-payment of “Diyyat” despite completing their sentence period.