109 govt employees fired for maintaining militant links

PESHAWAR: The services of 109 government employees have been terminated in the Malakand Division on charges of maintaining ties with militants.

A total of 113 employees were being investigated for anti-state activities and their alleged links to militants. The Home and Tribal Affairs (H&TA) department initiated the investigation on evidence provided by an unidentified source. The 133 employees belonged to various districts in the Malakand Division, Swat, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Shangla, Buner and Chitral.

Official documents showed that Swat had the largest number of government employees who had alleged links with militants, followed by the Buner and Shangla districts.

This investigation by the provincial home and tribal affairs department started after the military operation Rah-i- Raast ended. The home department listed approximately 75 government employees in Swat believed to have links with militants.

When the investigation was completed it revealed that 61 of these employees were guilty and they were consequently fired. A probe has been ordered to investigate the remaining employees in Swat. The pensions of two retired employees have also been withheld. In a strange coincidence, one of the employees being investigated was found dead shortly after the investigation started.

Figures up to March 2010 say that 25 government employees were charged with involvement in anti-state activities in the Buner district and all of them have been fired following the home department inquiry.

In the Shangla district, 13 government servants were investigated for alleged links with militants and 11 of them were sacked while one man turned out to not be an employee and had “fake” documentation. In Upper Dir six people were charged and five of them were fired from their jobs. One was killed, while in Lower Dir district four employees were charged for involvement in anti-state activities and two of them were fired. Investigations against two employees are still in progress.

In January this year the provincial government announced the termination of the services of 55 employees believed to have links to militants. The government told media that at least 138 government employees working in different departments were allegedly linked to militants and 55 were fired while 83 were still being investigated.