Contractor, forest official held in Rs260m Balochistan corruption case

QUETTA: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) of Balochistan has arrested a contractor and an officer of the province’s Forest and Wildlife Department over their alleged role in a Rs260 million corruption case, according to ACE officials.

Officials said Maqbool-ul-Hassan Dashti, who served as forest conservator for coastal management, was allegedly involved in financial irregularities during the 2024-25 fiscal year in a range of development schemes.

They said the projects under scrutiny included a mangrove research centre, afforestation work, land levelling, nursery development, mangrove plantation, rest houses and other construction-related schemes.

Inquiry and arrests

ACE Balochistan officials said the inquiry was completed and approval was obtained from the competent authority before a case was registered by the deputy director of ACE’s Kalat division against Dashti and contractor Mehtab Alam.

The officials said the two men were taken into custody in connection with the alleged scam. They added that Dashti is absconding in the case and raids are being carried out for his arrest.

Projects allegedly mishandled

ACE officials alleged that most of the schemes were meant to be executed by the Communication and Works (C&W) Department, but were instead unlawfully carried out by the Forest and Wildlife Department itself.

They further claimed that several of the projects were either shown as completed in official records or, upon inspection on the ground, were found to be incomplete, substandard or of poor quality.

Substantial amounts were also allegedly misappropriated through advance payments.

The case centres on alleged financial misappropriation in public development spending tied to coastal management and forestry-related works in Balochistan during the current fiscal period identified.

Dawn reported that the anti-graft body is also conducting raids for the arrest of the former conservator in the case. The allegations involve development projects that included plantation, nursery and construction works, with investigators claiming that a number of schemes existed only on paper or did not meet required standards on the ground.

The matter has now formally moved into the criminal case stage following the completion of the inquiry and registration of the case by ACE Kalat division, according to officials.