COMSATS official gets charge-sheeted for malpractices

Ex-director of Abbottabad campus asked to submit reply within 14 days

ABBOTTABAD:

COMSATS’ Rector Dr Muhammad Tabassum Afzal has issued a charge sheet to the varsity’s former director Abbottabad campus Professor Imtiaz Ali Khan, seeking his reply within 14 days over the latter’s alleged massive abuse of power and malpractices.

Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) referred a complaint lodged with the anti-graft body against the former director over his alleged malpractices to the university’s rector for taking further action.

In the charge sheet dated January 4, 2023, several charges were framed against Prof Khan for his alleged financial embezzlement and abuse of power.

The charge sheet, a copy of which is available with this scribe, alleged excessive misuse of authority in instituting several baseless inquiries against senior varsity officers causing harassment, incitement and unrest among the working staff and faculty besides wasting precious human and material resources as well as non-productive use of the time of faculty, officers and staff members.

The rector further charged him over misuse of official transport and hostel accommodation located within the premises of the university’s campus.

The former director was earlier sent on a forced leave on charges of immoral conduct for which a separate inquiry under E&D statutes, 2006 has been initiated by the COMSATS rector against him. In the charge sheet, the rector further alleged that the former director misused his authority to convert the Director/COMSATS house into a guest house while making a lavish expenditure of more than Rs1 million.

Similarly, the former director allegedly misused his authority to spend more than Rs8 million on non-developmental projects, bypassing the rules and regulations of the varsity and financial institutions.

The former director was also asked to explain his position for hiring more than 40 interns and other employees without following the institutional procedural rules and policies.

The charge sheet further stated that “in case no response is received within the stipulated time, it shall be presumed that you have nothing to say in your defence of the said charges and exparte action will be taken against you without providing you any further opportunity to this effect, which may include the imposition of major penalty under the E&D Statues”.

Meanwhile, panic gripped the varsity’s faculty and staff members over the sudden transfer of Senior Manager Administration Muhammad Idrees to COMSATS Abbottabad Campus. Idrees was also charge-sheeted in June, 2022 and was transferred and posted in the CUI Attock Campus for his alleged involvement in facilitating private individuals in engaging in unethical and immoral activities on the campus.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2023.