Dismissal of two ETO inspectors, all jump in to protest

A large number of those who were visiting the office affected.

RAWALPINDI:

The dismissal of two inspectors of Excise and Taxation Office (ETO) sparked off a protest on Wednesday that left the administration services of the department in disarray.

Earlier, Secretary Excise and Taxation Punjab Fawad Hassan issued dismissal orders of the two inspectors, Nasir Malik and Hamoodur Rehman, under Recovery Rule 7-A for not meeting the recovery target set by the excise department.

In response to the orders, more than 200 employees of Excise and Taxation Office came out from their offices and staged a protest demonstration, leaving the pending work at the excise office in a lurch.

The charged protestors chanted slogans against the secretary and provincial government. They also called for withdrawing the orders and reinstating the inspectors immediately.

Soon after, Excise and Taxation Officer Malik Shehzad Hussain held a meeting with all the employees of ETO including the two affected inspectors at the main hall.

Hussain told the employees that he was negotiating with them on the instructions of the secretary. He said that the employees should not disturb the official activities in the office and get back to work immediately or else strict departmental action would be taken against them.

He said that the aggrieved inspectors should approach the secretary with an application. “Protesting is not the solution to any problem,” he said.

Obstruction of the administrative affairs of Excise and Taxation Office by any employee will not be tolerated. Those who have any complaint should come to my office with an appeal, Hussain told the employees while quoting the secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

However, ETO Hussain’s effort did not bring any fruit as all the employees left the hall and gathered outside the token branch. Only a few went to their offices to serve the general public.

A large number of people, who had come to the ETO for their work condemned the strike observed by employees and said that all the matters should be solved amicably instead of troubling the general public all the time.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2012.