LAHORE, May 9: After resignation of Punjab Baitul Maal (PBM) Ameen Justice Mian Nazir Akhtar (retired), Secretary (Social Welfare) Shah Nawaz Badar on Monday formally announced names of chairmen and vice chairmen of 21 out of total 39 District Baitul Maal Committees (DBMCs) for 36 districts of the province.

Sources said Mr Badar who assumed charge of Ameen after Mr Akhtar's resignation, approved nominations for DBMC chairmen and vice chairmen in a high level meeting of the Punjab Baitul Maal Council (PBMC) on Monday.

Director-General (Social Welfare) Malik Muhammad Aslam, MNAs Abid Sher Ali and Rana Mahmoodul Hassan and MPAs Begum Iffat Ilaqat, Dr Syed Hasnat Shah, Majid Zahoor and Malik Shafique attended the meeting being PBMC members, they said.

According to documents, Mr Badar being officiating PBM Ameen appointed Zaheer Butt and Ejaz Ahmad as chairman and vice chairman respectively for Lahore (City) DBMC, Naseem Arshad Warraich and Bilal Gujar for Lahore (Cantonment), Hafiz Ayyaz Safdar and Shuja Butt for Lahore (Saddar) and Mirza Shakil Baig and Shahbaz Ghuas for Model Town.

Others whose names have been approved for DBMC chairman and vice chairman slots are: Rana Abdul Sami and Abdul Latif (Kasur), Maj Syed Zulifqar Shah (retired) and Naveed Bhatti (Nankana Sahib), Rana Muhammad Ashraf and Ejaz Sikandar Gujjar (Sheikhupura), Malik Salahuddin and Saeed Chohan (Mandi Bahauddin), Sheikh Asif Mahmood Soni and Akmal Shahzad Butt (Sialkot), Maj Khalid Masood (retired) and Syed Azadar Husain Shah (Attock), Raja Arshad Mahmood and Iftikhar Mahmood Kiyani (Rawalpindi), Sheikh Muhammad Akram and Raja Muhammad Farooq (Jhelum), Imran Ghuman and Sajjad Naseer Qureshi (Sargodha), Muhammad Umar and Fayyaz Ahmad Naich (Khushab), Manzoor Ahmad Khan and Abdul Latif Khan (Mianwali), Muhamad Islam and Ramzan Ali Chachi (TT Singh), Jamil Ahmad Afridi and Muhammad Aslam (Pakpattan), Rana Ishtiaq Ahmad and Saeed Ansari (Multan), Yaseen Siddiqui and Saleem Chhotia (Bahawalnagar), Allah Bakhsh Gopang and Muhammad Akbar Chandia (DG Khan) and Rashid Baloch and Sheikh Wali (Rajanpur).

Sources said nominations for districts of Gujrat, Gujranwala, Chiniot, Sahiwal, Okara, Khanewal, Vehari, Lodhran, Faisalabad, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Layyah, Bhakkar, Muzaffargarh, Narowal, Hafizabad and Chakwal were yet to be finalised, as the quarters concerned were adopting necessary procedure for the purpose.

They said the PBMC had announced names for four district panels in Lahore alone being biggest city of the province.

“Though the names of chairmen and vice chairmen have been approved, the PBMC has yet to finalise nominations for DBMC members in all districts,” an official said.

He said the PBM would take 15 to 20 days more for forming and notifying all district committees completely and disbursement of financial assistance would start thereafter.

Earlier on April 27, Mr Akhtar had resigned from his post in a meeting with Shahbaz Sharif after powerful council members and the CM's Secretariat allegedly exerted pressure on him to induct people of their 'choice' in district committees.

After a big 'no' from Mr Akhtar, the council members and the secretariat reportedly managed to get their men adjusted in District Zakat Committees (DZCs) in 29 districts last month.

Mr Akhtar, who had spoken to this reporter after his resignation, was of the view that the nominations received from the government for DBMCs were in violation of merit as most of them were not fulfilling the criteria for heading DBMCs.