Bank of Khyber MD to challenge dismissal

K-P govt decided to fire Qayyum for public spat with JI minister

PESHAWAR: Shamsul Qayyum, the managing director of the Bank of Khyber (BoK), has decided to challenge in court an order by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government which fired him.

The K-P finance department had issued a notice terminating Qayyum’s services over a public spat he had with K-P Finance Minister, Jamaate-Islami’s Muzaffar Said last year. The move came just 18 days before Qayyum’s term as MD was set to expire.

Qayyum had published an advertisement in newspapers in April last year against the Said, alleging that the finance minister indulged in corruption, illegal appointments, and utilising the bank’s resources for his party and interfering in the bank’s matters.

The JI not only rejected the allegations but also demanded that the PTI axe the MD.

Qayyum told The Express Tribune that the termination notice as “totally illegal” and against regulations of the State Bank of Pakistan.

“My lawyers are preparing a case and we will challenge the decision in the Peshawar High Court,” he stated.

The board of directors of a bank requires the SBP’s approval for appointing as well as prematurely terminating the services of managing directors of banks.

“Only 18 to 20 days were left in my term after which I would have silently gone home, but they did it [served termination notice],” he said, adding that the JI wanted to axe him for political motives.

Sources in the K-P government said that the JI Shura wanted the K-P government to take the step to wash away the scar of a scandal from its face.

Meanwhile, Said noted that Qayyum had a right to take the matter surrounding his dismissal to court. But the K-P finance minister explained that the former MD had been punished for his actions which had damaged the reputation of the bank and the provincial government.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2017.