Irate MQM workers thrash SKAA director

The Muttaheda Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers of Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority (SKAA) Labour Wing beat up the SKAA human resource (HR) director for unequal share in illegal appointments that were recently made in the authority despite election commission (EC) ban on fresh recruitments.
With this, 100 illegal appointments have been exposed in SKAA that were made after the EC imposed ban on fresh appointments in December 2012. Interestingly, the appointed candidates did not get medical fitness certificates from Sindh Government Services Hospital (SGSH) and they were directly given appointment letters.
The appointed candidates were transferred within 10 days of their appointment to SKAA Headquarters in Karachi. However, former Sindh minister for katchi abadis and spatial development Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto intervened and resolved the matter.
On Tuesday, the said MQM workers entered the room of authority’s HR Director Javed Khan and beat him up for unequal distribution of illegal appointment letters. Holding list of some blue-eyed candidates in hands, they attacked SKAA HR director office and pressurised the officer to accommodate them and issue promotion letters of some members of their labour wing.
When the director refused to accept their demand, they abused them and thrashed him. Later, they went to SKAA Finance Director Imtiaz Memon’s office who also ran away to the SKAA director general (DG) office to save himself from the enraged labourers.
The enraged MQM labour wing workers harassed the staff and forced them to leave the office. After this, they wrote abusive sentences at vehicles of the HR and finance directors which were parked in the basement of the plaza.
When this scribe reached the SKAA office, there were few peoples roaming in two floors of the multi-storey building. A peon of the office was busy in providing refreshment to the enraged labourers who were roaming in the authority’s office to-and-fro. When he was asked about other staff member of the authority, he said they had left for their houses after some people forced them to leave the office.
Some people were sitting in a room busy in negotiations. When this scribe tried to enter the room, he was directed to wait outside until the meeting was over. When asked about high-handedness of the SKAA HR director, a man standing outside the room said ‘injustice would not be tolerated at all’.
A high-ranked officer in SKAA, who wished not to be named, told Pakistan Today that the authority had appointed some 100 men after the EC imposed ban on fresh recruitments. The appointments were made on mutual sharing basis between coalition partners of the former Sindh cabinet, he said, adding that SKAA HR director, who was thrashed by politically-backed labourers, had also appointed some of his relatives.
The appointments were made in BPS-1 to BPS-18, the SKAA officer said, adding that fresh appointees were later transferred to SKAA Headquarters in Karachi that created chaos. Some of the illegal appointees were given high grades that have resulted into rebellion against SKAA, he claimed.
The politically-backed workers manhandled the HR and finance director and ran away to the DG’s room to save their skin, he said, adding the DG also called a meeting of labour wing and tried to negotiate with them but he failed.
When SKAA HR Director Javed Khan approached for comments, he said no such incident had taken place in SKAA. “I left for home after offering prayer and I have no idea about this incident.” When he was asked about illegal appointments of 100 men in SKAA, he replied that DG SKAA was the authority for issuing any statement in this regard.
SKAA DG Wahab Sheikh told Pakistan Today that he had no idea about this incident. He said he was in his office till 2:00 pm and later left for meeting with the chief secretary “I will confirm this incident and then ring you back,” he said. But later he did not bother to attend the call.