No more rescuing

Three Rescue 1122 BPS-18 Senior District Emergency Officers (DEO) including Mianwali DEO Dr Qaiser Obaid Khan, Vehari DEO Dr AbidHussain and DEO and Medical Wing Head Dr Waseem Hassan Hashmi submitted their collective conditional resignations as a protest in the best interests of the public and the rescue service to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif against criminal inefficiencies, illegalities, corruption, fraudulent practices, personal victimisation, abusive use of powers, high-handedness, nepotism, service terrorism and heavy losses to the public exchequer via the politically and illegally selected Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer.
The officers presented their resignations in a press conference held at the Lahore Press Club and informed the media that in the absence of service rules and regulations due to intentional non-compliance by Rizwan, despite the directions of the government, his appalling intentions to victimise the service employees and to fulfill his vested interests were prevalent.
Furthermore, they alleged that Rizwan had not established standard operating procedures for fire fighting and rescue operations as he lacked the necessary experience and professionalism required for the post.
They added that countless illegal activities including administrative irregularities, corrupt and fraudulent procurement practices, the procurement of sub-standard equipment and back-dated correspondence and record management to save his blue-eyed firms from liquidity damages for devolved interests (especially those of Ahmed Medix) were all prevalent in the service due to Rizwan’s vested interests.
Moreover, they said that the Transparency International also declared the procedures followed by Rizwan as ‘corrupt and fraudulent’.
The officers also alleged him for simultaneously possessing dual jobs while being the DG.
They demanded the CM to “Remove the illegally and politically appointed Rizwan and to launch an FIR against him in view of the CMIT Inquiry Report’s recommendations for being responsible for criminal inefficiency and for the death of 23 precious lives during the LDA plaza fire.
Furthermore, the officers demanded the immediate removal and for an comprehensive impartial judicial inquiry to probe the existing major flaws, irregularities, corruption and fraudulent practices prevailing in Rescue 1122.
Hashmi showed serious concern and requested the authorities concerned to instantaneously seal the complete records instead of marking for comments as “The ‘corruption engineer’ would forge the record in a complex manner as he was vastly experienced in such practices and had already hijacked the whole service’s machinery. The surrendering officers requested the Lahore High to give an early decision of Writ of QuoeWarranto 18593-12 filed against the, illegal and without advertisement, appointment of Rizwan. The officers submitted their written conditional resignation to the CM and dispatched their caps and crowns to the Chief Justice as a protest against Rizwan.