Islamabad- Days after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa summoned the former CEO/Chairman of the Sehat Sahulat Program (Sehat Card Plus), Dr. Muhammad Riaz Tanoli, a senior NAB official has publicly questioned whether such notices ever lead anywhere.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The October 17 notice summons Dr. Tanoli to appear before a Combined Investigation Team (Medical Wing) on October 29, 2026. It cites about Rs12 billion released in FY2023-24 and Rs9 billion disbursed between July 2025 and July 2026, and alleges unaccounted expenditure, ghost or duplicate cards, improper vendor selection and missing audit trails.
The official claimed that over the past ten years, the Sehat Card program has seen irregularities amounting to more than Rs300 billion. He said sources told him similar notices had been issued before, and that they tend to appear whenever NAB faces public criticism. According to him, the notices are meant to create an impression of action, and the inquiries are later closed after behind-the-scenes deals. When such notices are issued, he said, the public hopes the bureau will finally act against the corrupt, but it all turns out to be a drama.
The official also asked whether one person alone could be responsible. “Would the then health minister and health secretary not be involved?” he asked, saying all of them should have been summoned. He pointed to earlier high-profile cases that began with notices and inquiries but, in his words, ended with no visible outcome. These included the alleged Rs120 billion corruption in the Peshawar BRT project, the Billion Tree Tsunami project, where the inquiry was reportedly closed after about eight years, and the Bank of Khyber fraud case, where notices were issued and the inquiry was later closed.
He said there are hundreds of similar cases in which NAB issues notices but makes no arrests and takes no further action. He alleged that opposing parties are pressured and that matters are then “settled” through deals.
