Bureaucracy in the eye of the storm

Not only some ministers but also serving bureaucrats who profited from the NRO might face suspension.

ISLAMABAD: Not only some ministers but also the serving bureaucrats, who profited from the now-scrapped National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), might face temporary suspension till revived cases against them are decided by courts, according to NAB rules.

The government is expected to present to the Supreme Court this week a list of those civil servants who were the beneficiaries of the NRO but cases against them stood revived when the apex court struck down the ordinance last year.

The section 15 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 says the person convicted by courts stands disqualified for 15 years and has to cease public office, if any, forthwith, ex-prosecutor general Irfan Qadir said.

“Additionally, section 15 also disqualified the convicted person from contesting elections,” he said, adding, “the section 24 empowers the NAB chief to order arrest of the accused during the case investigation.”

Ikram Chaudhry, who also presented his arguments in the NRO case on behalf of his client, says that the NRO beneficiaries holding public offices must be suspended under NAB laws.

“Whether their cases are being tried in courts or their sentences have been suspended, it’s binding on NAB to suspend their services,” he said.

Attorney Geneal Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq believes that the government would present two lists of NRO beneficiaries through ministry of law and NAB by end of this week.

According to fresh reports of public servants prepared by the NAB and the law ministry, Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s name appears on top of the NRO beneficiaries’ list. He was convicted in various cases of illegal gratification and recently his appeal was dismissed by the Lahore High Court.

Moreover, Sindh Minister Shoaib Bokhari, Minister for Local Bodies Sindh Agha Siraj Durrani, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, MQM Parliamentary Leader Dr Farooq Sattar, Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri, Minister of State for Housing Tariq Anis, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqani and Political Secretary of President House Salman Farooqi have been convicted by accountability courts.

Interestingly, the name of President Asif Ali Zardari has been omitted from the list prepared by clubbing the ones put together by the law ministry and NAB.

Besides, the lists, copies of which are available with The Express Tribune, cite the names of 13 Auditor General of Pakistan officials. Among them are Assistant Superintendent Abdul Razzaq Bhatti, account officer Shahamat Ali, typist Tariq Mehmood, assistant audit officer Hanif Ahmad Rahi, senior auditors Abbas Ali, Muhammad Safdar Hussain and junior CM Ibrar Hussain.

The officials of Capital Development Authority were also not far behind in getting benefits under the NRO. Prominent among them are Assistant Director Manzoor Hussain Shah, Naib Tahsildar Muhammad Farooq and Taramat Hussain.

The officials of Post Qasim Authority also derived benefit from this law. Among the leading names are XENs Civil Pir Bux Solangi and Hamzo Khan Gabol.

Some 19 names of Federal Board of Revenue employees figure in the list. They are: Collector Custom Muhammad Nawaz Butt, Assistant Collector Muhammad Ali Changezi, Inspector Custom Khalid Aziz, Collector Adjudication Customs Javed Iqbal Mirza, Superintendent Dry Port Customs Muhammad Saleem, Assistant Collector Customs Asim Majeed and Khizar Iqbal, Appraising Officer Naseerud Din, Principal Appraisar, Sakhi Muhammad, Appraising Officer Customs Qasim Pervaiz, Principal Appraiser Custom Qazi Afzaal Hussain, UDC Income Tax Muhammad Usman, LDC Income Tax Arshad Mehmood, AC Custom Javid Iqbal Mirza, Inspector Custom Sarwar Akhtar, Accounts Officer Muhammad Sarwar, Superintendent Custom Muhammad Younis Butt, Inspector Customs Sher Dad Khan and Sajjid Hussain.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani recently asked the NRO beneficiaries to resign ‘voluntarily’, saying that the list of public servants who profited from NRO would be submitted to the SC once the verification process is completed.

Published n The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2010.