NAB to finalise inquiries into three railways cases within week: Swati.

LAHORE -- Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati says the Pakistan Railways (PR) has suffered a huge loss of Rs1.2 trillion, leaving the government with no option but to run this department under a sustainable business mode.

He further says the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has agreed to decide / finalise inquiries of three references within one week against those allegedly involved in corruption made in the modern signalling / interlocking project from Lodhran to Shahdara.

'I am clearly telling you that huge public money amounting to Rs1.2 trillion has so far been sunk in the Pakistan Railways. And it can only be reduced or recovered if we run this important department under a formal sustainable business model,' Swati told journalists at a press conference on Saturday.

He said that after independence, there were two ministries -- railways and postal services -- that were required to be run under business models. But, unfortunately, these were run on charitable pattern that caused massive financial destruction to these departments. Resultantly, the losses continue to emerge and rise.

He quoted the example of Railcop, a PR- owned company, where, according to him, a professional from private sector should have been appointed instead of the railway officer who just receive Rs12,000 additional allowance for heading this organisation. 'How can a senior official (Divisional Superintendent) wholeheartedly work to steer the organisation professionally for just Rs12,000 per month,' he wondered.

Responding to a question, the minister said he had a meeting with NAB chairman retired Justice Javaid Iqbal two weeks ago to discuss an issue related to ongoing inquiries over alleged corruption in the PR's signaling / interlocking project.

'During meeting I requested the NAB chairman to please decide three references related to this project since the issue is hampering the safety of passengers and those working on this project. I also told him that the project started in 2008 and was completed almost in 2012. But later it was referred to the NAB for investigation and delayed further,' he explained.

'I also told the NAB chief that due to this issue (non-completion of the project delay in finalising / deciding references, the PR has been facing operational losses of Rs60,000 US dollars per day.

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