Internal rifts: The price of meritocracy

As per sources, many bureaucrats have been transferred from Sindh for not toeing the line of higher-ups

KARACHI: In an ideal world, governments strive their best to bring about good governance. The Sindh government, however, seems bent on doing the opposite by allowing “de facto” ministers and other influential figures to interfere in its affairs.

Officials familiar with the government’s internal matters, who chose to remain anonymous, told The Express Tribune about the recent reshuffle that took place in Sindh’s bureaucracy wherein some officials, who enjoyed a good reputation, have been transferred because they expressed their discontent with the policies of the government.



“Naheed Shah Durrani, a grade-22 officer who was working as the chairperson of planning and development board, for instance, has been repatriated to Islamabad only nine months after she was sent to render her services in Sindh,” an official in Sindh government. “She has been transferred because of her resistance and objection to various development schemes which are to be executed at the whims of influential people from the ruling party in Sindh.”

The source referred to a powerful person working for the Sindh government who is considered the “de-facto” minister of the irrigation department and wants all departmental affairs to run as per his wishes.

Referring to the objections raised by Durrani, the source said that she bluntly refused to approve a proposal and said that nothing should be done against the law. The development schemes in question will be incorporated in various sectors and executed as per the original plan.

“She also refused to add a few schemes put forward by some influential elected representatives and senior party leaders, which infuriated a lot of people,” the source said.

Naheed Shah Durrani, who is a Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) officer, has been replaced by Mohammad Waseem who was previously working as the chairman of the anti-corruption department.

Waseem, who is said to be a trusted aide of the Sindh chief minister, now enjoys three posts at the same time. Apart from his new position as the chairperson of planning and development board, he is also serving as the department’s chief secretary in the absence of the real incumbent who has gone to perform umrah. He is also simultaneously looking after the anti-corruption department.



“This was not the first time that Durrani was transferred for doing her job with honesty and dedication. A similar situation had arisen during the previous tenure of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) when Pir Mazharul Haq was serving as the education minister,” the source said. “Durrani was shown the door when she refused to toe Haq’s line.

It was not only Durrani who had to bear the brunt of the rampant corruption and nepotism in the government, but the director of the anti-corruption department Fayyaz Abbasi has also been recently transferred to be replaced by a police officer named Usman Ghani Siddiqui.

According to inside sources, the chief secretary initially objected to his transfer but he later had to follow the directives issued to him by the high-ups of the provincial government.

A few weeks ago, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shikarpur Dr Muhammad Rizwan made headlines after he accused ministers in the Sindh government as well as influential members of the PPP for supporting dacoits and running gambling dens.

“Whenever I arrest dacoits and notorious criminals, I receive phone calls from ministers who tell me to release them,” Rizwan said during a meeting with journalists in Shikarpur. “The police is facing many problems because these influential landlords support criminals. I urge journalists to write against these people who patronise criminals in their areas.”

Three days after his press conference, the government transferred him and repatriated his services to Islamabad. Mirpurkhas DIG Khadim Rind, a well-reputed police officer, met a similar fate. Both the officers challenged the Sindh government’s decision of repatriating them upon which the government granted them stay orders to continue their jobs until a decision was made.

Akin to that, in November last year, the provincial government repatriated the East  District SSP Ghulam Azfar Mahesar to the establishment division in Islamabad over serious “misconduct” while handling the case of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) target killer Yousuf alias Thailaywala. While in custody, Yousuf’s video was leaked where he could be seen confessing to holding meetings with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.



The CM bluntly denied holding any meetings with the target killer and said that he had never even seen him.

“These allegations are levelled against me to defame me,” Shah said. “The video of the criminal released from the police custody was pre-planned and East District SSP should be held responsible for it.”

In September 2018, Sindh government surrendered the services of the then chief secretary, Azam Suleman Khan, amid reports of his objections to many policy issues and refusal to obey political orders.

It is pertinent to mention that the case of former inspector general (IG) Sindh A D Khawaja also made headlines when the Sindh government was putting all its effort to send him packing. The government was getting rid of him because of his stand for meritocracy and resistance to political pressure. After a tug of war, his case was forwarded to the apex court after which he was finally transferred in September 2018.

When approached, the spokesperson for the Sindh government Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the government has not transferred any official on anyone’s whims and the information is falsified.

“The news of Naheed Shah Durrani’s repatriation to Islamabad is wrong,” he said, adding that she is still serving the Sindh government. “The transfers and postings of officers take place on a regular basis. She can be posted on senior positions like the chairperson of anti-corruption establishment or could be heading the chief minister’s inspection team.”

He also said that there are more than a dozen cases of secretaries and police officers who have either recently been transferred or their services repatriated owing to their resistance to the established rules of law.

“As for other cases, it is the prerogative of the Sindh government to seek the services of bureaucrats and they can be repatriated if they refuse to work in accordance with the policy of the government,” said Wahab.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2020.