Khattak owes SNGPL over Rs180mn, scrutiny reveals

The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) on Wednesday sent a report to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) highlighting that many aspirants for upcoming elections, including former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Pervez Khattak and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, owe huge amounts to the company.

This was revealed by SNGPL during the scrutiny of candidates for the upcoming polls. The report comes a day after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared over 100 election candidates as bank defaulters.

It stated that the company is owed hundreds of millions of rupees by a sizable list of aspiring lawmakers, who are mostly CNG station owners. The report listed Amjad Khan Afridi — a former MPA of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf who was expelled from the party, as the biggest defaulter owing SNGPL Rs216,295,485.

Bilour, the erstwhile minister for railways and among the more notable names on the list, owes Rs144,670,715, whereas the outstanding amount pertaining to former KP CM Khattak stands at Rs106,575,071 in one case and Rs82,422,320 in another.

Hamid Saeed Kazmi, the former minister for religious affairs who belongs to the PPP, is also on the SNGPL list, although at Rs31,500, the amount he owes pales in comparison to the rest.