LAHORE: A spokesperson of the Punjab government on Tuesday deemed the character of Multan Metro Bus project’s whistleblower, Capital Engineering Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Faisal Subhan “suspicious” and alluded to the creation of a fake company as a testimony of his unethical behaviour.
“Subhan created a fake company by colluding with a man named Aijaz,” Malik Ahmed Khan said on a private TV show and added, “His character is suspicious”.
Counterfeit letters from Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Mushahid Hussain Syed were used to create the company.
“China’s regulatory authority probing into the matter discovered that such a company doesn’t exist,” Malik Ahmed Khan said.
Earlier on Monday, the chief minister had been accused by Imran Khan once again of receiving kickbacks in the Multan Metro Bus project through Yabaite – a fake Chinese firm.
The provincial government responding to Imran Khan’s series of tweets through its Twitter handle and stated, “To put facts straight again, the China Securities Regulatory Commission blacklisted Yabaite and awarded max penalties on the company and its owner for defaming the [Punjab] chief minister”.
It went on to add that the company, Yabaite, had accepted its malicious intent and had issued a public apology as well. In Pakistan, the China Embassy also confirmed that the penalties were awarded to Yabaite. “Those who only know how to make baseless allegations cannot stand the scrutiny when called upon to do so,” the government said.
Following the controversy, the Chinese government had also vouched for Shehbaz Sharif and had rejected the corruption charges levelled against the chief minister.
The Punjab CM not only strongly rebutted the media reports but also sent legal notices to the media organisations that were involved in the alleged misreporting.
The case was then referred to the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. The National Accountability Bureau’s Multan extension had also started a probe into the alleged money laundering in the Multan Metro Bus project.
