Govt has one-month to submit appointment records

SHC wants details of all appointments made in govt depts, agencies in the last 17 years

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) granted on Thursday one month’s time to the provincial government to submit records relating to appointments made in government departments and agencies during the last 17 years.

Headed by SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, a two-judge bench allowed time on a request made by the provincial law officer, who said the entire record could not be presented and needed more time to do submit it.

Last month, the court had sought details of appointments made in various government departments and agencies to see whether or not the same were made on merit.

This directive was issued on a petition filed by Afshan Mansoor seeking direction for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate alleged financial irregularities in the projects to construct new buildings of the Sindh Assembly and hostel for MPAs in Karachi.



Naming Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, the provincial law secretary, NAB chairperson and its provincial director-general, the provincial anti-corruption authority’s head and others as respondents, the petitioner had alleged that massive corruption had taken place in the project. It was argued that the cost of the project was estimated at Rs2.7 billion in the initial PC-I.

The judges were informed that the project cost had now been revised to Rs11.4 billion. Such a massive amount of money has already been released, despite the fact that not even 50% of the work on the project has been completed, Mansoor added.

The petitioner informed the court that Durrani, who was supervising the project himself, had got his blue-eyed officer appointed as the project director. Such irregularities are being committed in connivance with officials in the provincial finance department and accountant-general’s office, the petitioner claimed.

The petitioner disclosed that officers in the provincial anti-corruption department who were investigating the alleged corruption had also been transferred to disrupt the inquiry.



The judges were further informed that apart from corruption, illegal appointments and promotions were also being made in the Sindh Assembly secretariat in violation of the principles of merit. The petitioner lamented that there was no check on such practices.

The court was pleaded to pass a direction to the NAB chairperson and provincial director-general to investigate such illegal appointments, promotions and corrupt practices. The court was also requested to restrain the finance department and accountant-general from releasing any more funds for the project.