Acting PSM chairman has a fake degree

ISLAMABAD – The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed its dismay and anger on Tuesday when it found that a man previously expelled from the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited on charges of possessing a fake educational degree was currently serving as the acting chairman of the Pakistan Steel Mills. “Does accountability revolve around parliamentarians only, as others are offered lucrative positions as a reward for their corruption,” said Riaz Hussain Pirzada, after learning that the acting PSM chairman, Imtiaz AK Lodhi, was previously forced to resign from the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in 2007 when the bank found that he had got the post of the chief financial officer on the basis of a fake degree. This PAC was reviewing the Finance Ministry’s audit report for 2008-09. Audit officials told the committee that ZTBL appointed Imtiaz Lodhi as CFO from February 15, 2006, with a gross salary of Rs 200,000 per month. They said later, a summary dated November 6, 2006, was submitted to the ZTBL president reporting that Lodhi had misstated facts about his last employer in his job application. “On the directives of the ZTBL president, Lodhi was asked to clarify his position on November 11, 2006, but he resigned from service on January 23, 2007,” the audit officials told the committee. When members of the PAC asked ZTBL officials why legal action was not taken against Lodhi for his lies, the bank’s chief financial officer stunned the committee by telling them that Lodhi was currently serving as the PSM’s acting chairman. The official website of the PSM says Lodhi is a commerce graduate from the University of Karachi with an MBA in Banking & Finance from the American University, USA. He trained and qualified as a chartered accountant from the UK. However, the incumbent ZTBL CFO told the committee that Lodhi’s CA degree was found fake on verification. The PAC directed the finance secretary to write a letter to the PM recommending Lodhi’s immediate sacking. The committee also directed ZTBL officials to lodge an FIR against Lodhi on charges of forgery and also recover the amount paid to him by the bank during his employment.