The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) has issued arrest warrants of former Awami National Party (ANP) social welfare minister Sitara Ayaz to face Rs 1 billion graft case. Ms. Ayaz currently serves as a Senator on ANP ticket. 

Ms. Sitara Ayaz allegedly misused her authority as a minister and incurred the national exchequer a loss of about 1 billion rupees. She also allegedly disregarded merit and awarded jobs to her near family and her supporters of the constituency.

In 2010, Ms. Ayaz had illegally distributed the aid material in her own village which was sent for the flood affectees, it is alleged. She did this to buy influence in her village Jhanda.

“The aid which was sent for the survival of flood affectees was distributed in her village which is a hundred miles away from the flood affected areas”, said a police constable who served in her village at the time. 

On Saturday, KP Ehtesab commission members reached Islamabad to seek the arrest of the Senator but were not successful due to legal constraints.

IG Islamabad Police informed the KPEC members that a prior authorization of the Chairman Senate was necessary before Police could arrest her in parliament lodges where the senator resides.

“A letter has been sent to Chairman Senate for permission”, said IG Islamabad Police. 

On the other hand, sources say that Ms. Sitara Ayaz is gathering people in her village to go to Peshawar and protest on her behalf.

“They are making sure that women are part of the protest group to talk to the media to have an emotional impact”, according to multiple sources.

“These people and especially the women are being offered various incentives for doing this job.

“The idea is to block the motorway traffic at Swabi interchange”, explained a source who is a prominent political figure of the area. 

When contacted by VoJ about the possible protest rally by supporters of Ms. Ayaz, a KPEC official said on condition of anonymity that the KP Ehtesab Commission is not subservient to any political party and will not be blackmailed by such attempts.

“We are mandated by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to go after the corrupt and we will go after them in any case whether they are in government or opposition”, further said the official. 

Ms. Sitara Ayaz is a member of six Senate committees — Climate Change, Defence Production, States and Frontier Regions, Human Rights, Senate House Committee — and it remains to be seen whether Chairman Senate will give police permission to arrest her or not.