A two year old case of ‘missing’ files of seven industrial plots in sector I-9/2 at CDA’s Estate Management has reared its ugly head once again after a smear campaign was launched in the media against former deputy director Estate Management (EM) II Syeda Shafaq Ali Hashmi. The former deputy director left the CDA in October 2013.
The conflict between rankers and deputationists is an open secret in many departments in the country. This is the story of the resentment that both the rankers and the deputationists feel against each other coupled with old fashioned scapegoating.
The CDA deputes officers from various other departments including the Civil Services of Pakistan on three-year terms. Recently, more than 42 officials were repatriated by CDA to their parent departments after an SC decision in this regard. The CSS officers, however, still serve in the department as they were deputed and not absorbed in the CDA.
The uproar was created back in 2013 when files pertaining to plot no. 52, 53, 54, 57, 58 and 60, industrial area, Sector I-9 were reported lost. The incident was reported three months after the files were lost, at a time when the concerned deputy director, Syeda Shafaq Ali, was on leave. However, the then Assistant Director Atta Bari and Dealing Assistant Muhammad Rauf pinned the blame for the missing files on her.
The fact finding was ordered and finalised in the absence of Shafaq. She was never intimated nor summoned to appear before the fact finding committee.
On her return from maternity leave, she pursued her departmental proceeding and the inquiry concluded that the files were last marked to Assistant Director Atta Bari and not to her. A document available with Pakistan Today show that the dealing officer made entries in his personal register to this effect.
The matter of transfer of plots has been examined by FIA too. The investigation agency closed the inquiry concluding that no forgery had occurred in the transfer of property and they had been handed over to genuine buyers.
Despite the departmental proceedings clearing Syeda Shafaq of wrongdoing, her media trial has gone on unimpeded.
Whether it was motivated by professional jealousy or a simple need for a scapegoat, apparently being cleared through an inquiry committee was not enough for Shafaq’s media trial to stop.
