High court orders chief secretary to provide personal affidavit

Court hears case relating to govt officers who entered into plea bargains with NAB

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the chief secretary to appear with a personal affidavit on the next hearing of a case pertaining to corrupt government officers who entered into plea bargains with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

A two-member bench of the SHC heard the matter on Thursday. The bench expressed its displeasure over the appointment of Syed Mehdi Ali Shah against the post of social workers welfare secretary despite the fact that he had confessed to his corruption before NAB and voluntarily returned the money he had embezzled.

An additional secretary informed the court that Shah had been handed a softer punishment, to which Justice KK Agha asked how an officer could be given a softer punishment if he had confessed to his crime.



How is the chief secretary running affairs? the bench asked. It further remarked that it could initiate contempt of court proceedings against the chief secretary.

The court should be informed who advised a softer punishment for Shah, the bench said, ordering the chief secretary to produce all record pertaining to Shah's punishment.

The SHC observed that the government was trying to protect officers whom it favoured. This is the reason the chief secretary is not submitting his personal affidavit, the bench remarked.

The court asked why the chief secretary was not present on the hearing, to which a public prosecutor replied that he was busy in Islamabad. The bench remarked that even if he was in South Africa, the SHC wanted to know why its orders were not being implemented.



The SHC ordered the chief secretary to submit in writing that no officer who had been convicted by NAB or who had entered into plea bargains with the bureau was serving in the government. The chief secretary was directed to appear on the next hearing with the personal affidavit.