PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar has formed a 10-member special committee headed by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to probe severalissueslinked to the last year`s public spat between finance minister and Bank of Khyber managing director over the bank`s administrative and financial affairs.

The committee`s formation comes in light of the unanimous resolution passed by the assembly on May 15 this year.

The committee has been given 30 days to complete task and submit report to the house.

The BOK spat had taken the ruling coalition of the province by storm in April 2016 when the government-owned bank published an advertisement in all major newspapers levelling multiple charges against finance minister Muzafar Said, of the Jamaati-Islami, who retaliated by publishing an advertisement in newspapers against the bank`s management.A five-member cabinet committee headed by senior minister for irrigation Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao had probed the matter.

In its 27-page report, the committee bailed out both the minister and bank management and termed the entire episode a `misunderstanding and communication gap.

Headed by the CM, the committee will consists of opposition leader in the provincial assembly Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Awami National Party parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz`s Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha, Pakistan People`s Party`s Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, senior minister for irrigation Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, senior minister for local government Inayatullah Khan, public health engineering minister Shah Farman, parliamentary secretary for anti-corruption Dr Haider Ali Khan and MPA Zar Gul Khan.

The committee has been tasked to examine 13 terms of reference ranging from public spat between the bank management and minister, alleged irregularities in appointment, loans and several other administrative issues related to the control of the entity.

The committee would investigate that why the cabinet commit-tee`s report into public fray between the bank and minister was not submitted to the provincial assembly despite chief minister`s assurances on the floor of the house.

It will also look into recruitments in the bank and relevant rules on the subject matter and reasons for not conducting inquiry into alleged irregularities of appointments in the bank despite the written orders of the chief minister to the finance secretary.

The probe will also investigate the alleged loss of Rs110 million assets in 2016, which is likely to surge to Rs3 billion by 2018.

The committee also looks into the sacking of the five-member of the bank`s employees union, who were sacked by the current management.

Interestingly, the cabinet committee had in its report recommended that officials who were sacked without following due course of law be restored forthwith. However, the management did not follow it.

The committee will also investigate induction of PTI central executive council`s member Rashid Khan into the bank`s board of directors, alleged loans sanctioned to the parties in the province, hushing up of the orders about the arrests of the then chiefsecretary for his involvement in the bank`s affairs.

Besides, the committee will also probe the planning and development department taking over bank`s affairs from the finance department in a violation of the government`s rules of business.

It will also investigate how and why a summary forwarded by the finance minister was delayed at the chief secretary`s office for around two years and didn`t reach the chief minister for examination.

The committee will also investigate allegations that then additional chief secretary Dr Hamad Uwais Agha left the post of the director to pave way for the induction of a private member in the board.

It will also scrutinise the process of current BOK chief Shamsul Qayyum`s appointment and his efforts to malign the provincial finance minister as well.

Interestingly, in Sept 2016, four months after the public spat, the JI and bank`s management agreed to bury the hatchet in the wake of prolonged negotiations.

Later, the bank regretted to finance minister in an advertisement published in newspapers declaring the entire incident `misunderstanding` and reposing trust in the minister.