Former DIG dismissed over ‘misconduct’

LAHORE:

Former Lahore DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf has been dismissed from service after failing to rejoin duty following the completion of his leave because his daughter was undergoing surgery in Canada.

He was handed down the penalty of dismissal from service two weeks back by the Establishment Division through an official order.

“I had asked for 20-day more leave to attend to my daughter who was undergoing brain surgery but instead of considering my application on humanitarian grounds, I was issued a termination letter,” the former official said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

“I had requested for leave because doctors had planned three surgeries for her,” he said. The establishment secretary imposed the penalty against the BS-19 officer under the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2020 on the charge of misconduct. According to a notification, a show cause notice had been issued to him on September 27 last year.

Read: DIG operations relieved of charge

However, Ashraf alleged that no hearing was held during the proceedings.

He said he had been given two days to appear for the inquiry the first time. “It was almost impossible for me at the time to reach Pakistan due to the Covid situation. I conveyed to them that nobody can reach back from Canada in two days when no flight is available and passengers require Covid test,” he said.

“The second time I was sent notice on the date when my daughter was in operation theatre,” he added.

He said he had been injured in the line of duty twice, during a counterterrorism operation in Garhi Shahu and while protecting churches from vandalism in Sanda.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2022.