Pointing out alleged misappropriation in funds meant for the uplift of the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine signalled the end of duty for Sindh Auqaf Department chief administrator, as he was given his transfer orders immediately after the episode by the departmental secretary, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Well-placed sources in the Sindh Auqaf, Religious and Minorities Affairs, Zakat and Usher Department told Pakistan Today that the department secretary Syed Abid Ali Shah allegedly backed by Tapi Zardari – a close relative of President Asif Ali Zardari – had scuffled with the chief administrator Syed Mehdi Shah – a close relative of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional chief Pir Pagara – when the latter pointed out massive corruption and irregularities of millions of rupees to be spent on the uplift of the shrine in Sehwan Sharif.
Bypassing the domain of the chief administrator, the influential secretary had appointed a Grade-14 employee of Sindh Transport Department as the manager of the Qalandar shrine.
The junior grade manager, Masood Mangi, is the son of shrine’s caretaker Faqeer Mumtaz Mangi and was given the senior position at the shrine of manager after his transfer from the Sindh Transport Department, the sources said.
The officer is involved in collecting bribes and misappropriating funds, resulting in poor cleanliness conditions at not only the shrine but the adjoining areas and the auqaf department’s rest house also.
Three employees, including two watchmen and a cleaner, of the Shewan rest house were also caught by the chief administrator red-handed collecting bribes at the shrine.
The chief administrator had suspended the three employees but interfering directly the department secretary restored them. The domain for appointing employees from grade 1 to 14 lies under the chief administrator’s jurisdiction.
Moreover, the upper case on the grave of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is supposed to be opened only for the president, prime minister, chief minister and governor; however, the employees, backed by the secretary, were doing this for anyone offering a heavy bribe.
Recently, the Auqaf chief administrator was on visit to inspect the shrine of Saidi Masooni in Mehar taluka, when he received a call from the private secretary of Senior Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim who was visiting the Sehwan shrine.
“The chief administrator kept on calling the shrine manager to arrange protocol for the visiting federal minister but he did not attend his phone.
“The minister was surprised that no authority from the Auqaf department was present at the shrine and the issue was raised before President Zardari also. However, no heed was paid to the complaints,” the sources said.
Interestingly, the Tapi Zardari-backed secretary has illegally transferred the control of schemes – renovation and rehabilitation of the Qalandar shrine – to the Sindh Works and Services Department despite the Sindh Auqaf Department being responsible for the uplift works at all shrines in the province.
The sources further claimed that Auqaf Secretary Shah had recently appointed three District Zakat Officers named Nisar Khakhrani, Niaz Memon and Javed Jokhio after they bribed the secretary with Rs 500,000.
