Sial had been absent from work without informing his seniors. He had also not completed a task that was assigned to him, says Ayub Nasir.
MULTAN:
An employee at the Zakat and Ushr office in Rajanpur who shot three of his colleagues and a visitor on Wednesday, was arrested from the Tribal Area on Thursday.
Two of his colleagues had died on the spot. The third is said to be in critical condition. The assailant, Rafiq Sial, says he had not been paid for five months.
Police said Sial, an assistant auditor, was a contract employee. His contract was renewed every three years and he was paid through cheque every month. His contract expired in January 2013, after which, he told police, he was told to continue working until it was renewed. He said he had been working for several years and every time the contract was renewed a few months after it expired. Meanwhile, he said, he continued to work and was paid every month. This time, he said, the department had stopped his salary for five months.
Quoting workers at the office, police said, Sial had been visiting the office since January to get his pending salary. They said he was told that the payment of salaries had not yet been approved by the government.
On Wednesday, police said, Sial returned with the request. When he was told to wait for a few more days, he shot two clerks, identified as Malik Sajid and Tariq Jameel. Another colleagues and a visitor were also shot when some men tried to stop Sial.
The injured men- assistant accountant Saeed Ahmed and a visitor- who had come to collect zakat- were taken to district headquarters hospital, where doctors treating them said that Ahmed was in critical condition. He was referred to Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan, where he underwent a surgery.
Ayub Nasir, the Zakat and Ushr Committee district chairman, told The Express Tribune that Sial’s contract had not been renewed yet. He said he had been working on a speculation that it would be renewed. He said his contract had expired as all clerical staff in the office was on a three-year contract. Nasir said Sial had been told that his contract would only be renewed after approval from the secretary, but he had been pushing the officials to get it approved before time.
He said Sial had been absent from work without informing his seniors. He had also not completed a task that was assigned to him.
He said that the department was about to pay Sial his due salaries through a cheque that was to be given to him in a few days.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
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