Allegations against Speaker Swati termed baseless
Muhammad Irshad Ullah
PESHAWAR: The PTI’s internal accountability committee has declared the allegations of corruption and abuse of authority against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati as baseless.
The committee’s probe report stated that all appointments and promotions within the assembly secretariat, including those involving Special Secretary Syed Waqar Shah, followed the law.
Accusations by ex-minister
Former Senator and PTI leader Azam Khan Swati accused Speaker Swati of corruption in appointments and promotions during a speech in Mansehra. In response, Speaker Swati requested an independent inquiry by the accountability committee.
PTI founder Imran Khan formed the accountability committee on August 3, 2024, to investigate corruption and misuse of power allegations against officials in the provincial government.
The committee included former KP governor Shah Farman Khan, senior advocate and former senator Qazi Muhammad Anwar, and Brigadier (retired) Musaddiq Abbasi to probe the allegations against Speaker Swati.
Probe by committee
The committee examined all allegations and found them unfounded. Most appointments and promotions in the Assembly Secretariat came from recommendations by the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), which the speaker approved as a routine procedure.
The Employment Exchange Program enabled the appointment of some Class IV employees without advertisement, in line with the rules.
These appointments and promotions occurred during the tenure of former Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani. Speaker Swati had no role in them.
One officer received two promotions – from Grade 19 to 20 – within a month, which the committee deemed illegal and inappropriate. However, most staff already held their posts, and the DPC based their promotions on merit.
The report clarified that the speaker, in his official capacity, answers only to the provincial assembly, not the committee. But as a PTI leader, he must justify his actions. The committee emphasized that its role is not to punish but to highlight procedural violations.
The report also explained the motives behind the campaign against the speaker.
Qazi Muhammad Anwar reviewed all documents and found no evidence of abuse of authority. He declared the allegations politically motivated and cleared the speaker of all charges.
The report detailed Syed Waqar Shah’s appointment and promotion. Authorities appointed him as Special Secretary in Grade 19, and later sent him to PIPS on 01-02-2019, placing him in Officer Grade-2, equivalent to BPS-20.
Officials sent him to the National Assembly, and during that tenure, former Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani upgraded him to BPS-20 on 22-04-2022. He returned to the KP Assembly on 18-08-2023.
Grievance committee
Speaker Swati formed a grievance committee to address Waqar Shah’s complaints. The committee recommended accepting his rejoining against the vacant post of Special Secretary and reconfirmed his BPS-20 status.
Speaker Swati accepted these recommendations. His appointment and promotion neither began under Speaker Swati nor occurred during his tenure. Thus, authorities did not hold him responsible for Waqar Shah’s inclusion and promotion.
The KP Assembly notified the “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Secretariat Employees Terms and Conditions of Service Rules 2025” in the official gazette.