PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party has levelled serious allegations against Chief Minister Pervez Khattak of awarding the Bus Rapid Transit contract to an alleged blacklisted firm just to get kickbacks and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu action to ensure transparency in the project.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, PPP provincial deputy general secretary Bahramand Khan Tangi said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had failed to fulfil its claim regarding eradication of corruption during the past over four years.

Flanked by MPA Ziaullah Khan Afridi, he alleged that corruption and corrupt practices were common in all departments, especially in Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited, education, health and tourism departments and Bank of Khyber.

He said that PPP would soon inform the masses about corrupt practices of the provincial government by bringing out a whitepaper.

`I am ready to prove at any forum what I say against the PTI leadership. ImranKhan is speaking against corruption, but his own government is promoting the menace,` Mr Tangi said.

Earlier, former PTI minister Ziaullah Afridi, who recently joined PPP, alleged that the contract of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project had been awarded to the construction firm `Maqbool and Co` which had been blacklisted by the Punjab government for misappropriation in different development projects.

The MPA claimed to have documentary proofs pertaining to plea bargain of the firm with the National Accountability Bureau, which proved that the KP government had encouraged corrupt elements instead of taking action against such people.

He said that the provincial government had approved 450 buses for BRT, which was beyond its actual requirement, and thus caused huge loss to the provincial kitty. He also criticised the government for destroying the freshly planted saplings and greenbelt and said that over Rs680 million had been spent on the plantation.

He also alleged that the trees had been planted under the billion tree tsunami project while its funds were drawn from the Peshawar Development Authority.

He demanded of the Supreme Court chief justice to take suo motu action in this regard to save the public money. He also alleged that a number of PDA officials who were facing corruption charges were playing role in the BRT project.