Panel cancels 1,000 ‘illegal’ appointments

Parliamentary panel orders immediate cancellation of "illegal" inductions by Zardari’s close associate.

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel has ordered immediate cancellation of around 1,000 “‘illegal’” inductions by President Asif Ali Zardari’s close associate.

Dr Zafar Altaf, the chairperson of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), inducted into his organisation about 1,000 consultants on lucrative packages after assuming office in 2008. Altaf, a former federal secretary, is said to be a friend and batchmate of Zardari’s Secretary-General Salman Farooqui.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Food and Agriculture asked the Establishment Division to immediately cancel what it called “unnecessary and politically-motivated” appointments.

At a meeting held on Wednesday, authorities were directed to decide whether Altaf should be given an extension in his tenure. The meeting was presided over by Javed Iqbal Warraich. Altaf was appointed for a two-year term in August 2008.

Officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, of which PARC is a subsidiary, told the panel that he has been working “illegally” since his term expired two months ago. The panel recommended that the committee should decide within 10 days whether or not to grant him a service extension.

PARC officials told The Express Tribune that not only had Altaf blatantly violated rules and regulations in hiring consultants, but he had also hired regular employees in the same manner. They said some consultants were getting as much as half a million rupees. The official cited one such case, in which a husband and wife, each with a sister, were hired on such packages.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2010.