- Bureaucrats refuse to work due to government’s lack of support
KARACHI: Sindh’s senior bureaucrats alleged National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of harassing and intimidating bureaucracy over its crackdown against the water-tankers mafia and refused to continue their work saying that the Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon have done little to nothing in order to protect them from NAB’s vindictive attitude, Pakistan Today learned on Tuesday.
Neither the chief minister nor the chief secretary has ever enquired about the status of all the officials of the Sindh government who have been taken into custody by the NAB for investigations, senior bureaucrats who wished not to be named told Pakistan Today.
There is a growing concern among a number of senior and competent officers of BS-20 and reluctance in being deputed on key posts based on the alleged hostile demeanour of NAB officials. NAB officials used to make calls to officers and get undue favours from the corrupt officials, sources accused.
Recently, NAB officials raided at the office of Local Government secretary and arrested his private secretary Ramzan Solangi. To add concern, the officials also forcibly entered into the office of Secretary Ramzan Awan, misbehaved, snatched secretary’s cell phone and threatened him of dire consequences for all the inquiries he launched against the water mafia.
While talking to Pakistan Today, Local Government Secretary Ramzan Awan said that on April 18 earlier this month, NAB Deputy Director Nadeem Sajid raided our office, forcibly snatched my mobile phone and took away various files from the drawers of the office table including reports and photocopies of correspondence made with various persons regarding theft of water and lying illegal pipes in the Manghopir road, Old Golimar.
A First Information Report (FIR) was also lodged against the culprits and pipes and other material was confiscated by the SITE police, the secretary added.
“I personally visited and made movies and photos of sites where illegal activities for theft of water were conducted. All correspondence with Karachi Water and Sewerage Board managing director, project director S-III and officials of DMC West is available in my mobile phone regarding direction issued for lodging of FIR which was forcibly taken away by NAB deputy director”, Awan added.
Being disgruntled by the disappointing response of the CM and chief secretary towards dignity of the senior bureaucrats, Awan forwarded a detailed letter to Supreme Court (SC)- appointed Water Commission head Justice (retd) Amir Muslim Hani informing him about the whole incident and possible action against water mafia.
“The matter is brought into your kind knowledge as well as in chief minister, LG minister and chief secretary’s on the same day. Sindh chief secretary informed the chief minister and undersigned that he had talked to NAB director general and they will return my phone and other personal files/notebook etc but still nothing has been returned. Two of the officials including junior clerk Muzzammil Memon computer operator Rajab Soomro were arrested and released at 2 pm on 19-4-2018 have informed me that NAB authorities had got their signature on the paper wherein it was written that mobile phone of Secretary Local Government had been recovered from custody of PSO to Secretary Local Government. This is quite a wrong statement as incident took place in presence of two MPAs, one MNA and other private persons who will give evidence regarding incident”, according to letter exclusively available with Pakistan Today.
The secretary further stated, “It is submitted that data preserved regarding theft of water in DMC West and other information/compliance reports will be destroyed so it will be difficult to fix responsibility of theft of water. Moreover, brother of arrested PSO has informed that Deputy Director is pressurizing him to give statement against undersigned and Minister Local Government.”
Awan requested that NAB Deputy Director Nadeem Sajid be called before the Water Commission and he is directed to confiscated mobile phone, personal files and other records which were taken forcibly from my custody after twice searching of office without any call notice and making any inventory etc, he went on to say.
Furthermore, the secretary also forwarded another letter to the Sindh Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon asking him to transfer his service to the federal government.
“It is submitted that my case for promotion from BS-20 to BS-21 was considered in the meeting of Central Selection Board held recently. But I have not been promoted. It has been learnt that my promotion is deferred due to the reason that in BS-20 I have not served in the Federal Secretariat. In view of above it is requested that I may kindly be relieved/transferred from Government of Sindh to Federal Government/Establishment Division Islamabad so that I can peruse my due promotion”, says another letter available with Pakistan Today.
