MULTAN: The committee constituted by the Supreme Court in connection with alleged illegalities in appointments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has failed to finalise its findings five months hence, it is learnt.

On March 31, the Supreme Court in its judgment after a suo motu notice (in a case) constituted a committee headed by Establishment Secretary Syed Tahir Shahbaz to come up with findings. Other members of the committee are Federal Public Service Commission member Habibullah Khan Khattak and NAB’s Human Resources Director-General Mohammad Shakil Malik.

The secretary establishment had previously submitted a report to the court after scrutinising the appointments/promotions/absorptions/deputations and appointments on a contract basis in NAB since 2002.

According to the report, “NAB since 2003 made 629 appointments on a regular basis out of which 101 were found inconsistent. Nine officers lacked inherent qualification for appointment to the post, 19 obtained experience certificate after appointment and 76 candidates’ experience was not acquired purely in the field of investigation/inquiries/research or legal matters. Twelve officers were fired for having inconsistencies.”

The report said 561 appointments were made through promotion out of which 137 cases were of inconsistency. There were 87 cases in which the qualifying service of the officer was less than the prescribed length of service, three officers were promoted while inquiry was pending against them, seven officers did not complete the mandatory training, nine superseded officers were reconsidered in review without earning one full performance evaluation report, 43 promotions were made without consideration of annual confidential report and five officers were promoted despite (the fact that) disciplinary proceedings were pending against them, it figured out. It said there were 35 officers who were fired for having inconsistencies.

The report further said NAB made 32 appointments through induction out of which 26 were inconsistent. There was the issue in qualification of 22 candidates and 19 were lacking the required experience. The number of officers who were fired with inconsistencies and were no more associated with NAB was 17.

The report reads: “The NAB acquired the services of 395 officers on deputation and in nine cases there were inconsistencies of approval of cases from an authority other than appointing authority, or the appointments were made other than equivalent posts. All the nine officers are no more associated with NAB.”

As for contract jobs, the Bureau hired the services of 102 officers but none of them was serving when the report was compiled.

Two of the nine officers who were lacking inherent qualification in their appointments opted for voluntary retirement and two of them have already retired. Two opted for repatriation to their parent departments. Retired Maj Syed Burhan Ali, retired Maj Tariq Muhammad and retired Maj Shabbir Ahmed also decided to retire after court directed to terminate them if they failed to exercise the option of retirement within four days.

Mr Shahbaz separately placed a list of 96 officers who were lacking the requisite experience in the initial appointments and suggested the court that a committee be formed to further examine the issue. The apex court constituted the committee of which he became the chairman, with direction to the NAB head to issue notices to all these officers to appear before the committee which after giving an opportunity of a hearing to them, would record its findings within two months.

The court directed that the remaining officers be issued show-cause notices to appear before the committee for hearing and their cases decided within two months from the date they show up.

The officer also identified 137 promotions inconsistent while the NAB chairman told the court that 35 officers had retired. In this case, the court ordered, a compliance report be submitted within 15 days after hearing the accused.

Sources told Dawn that only 48 officers (up to deputy director level) had been afforded an opportunity of personal hearing and the committee was employing delaying tactics in summoning the officers from grade 19 to 21. They said no action had been taken against even those officers who were summoned for hearing.

Dr Masood Akhtar, the spokesman for the Establishment Division, said NAB could provide information about the matter. “NAB is performing the secretarial function (for the committee) and it can give information about the issue,” he said.

NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali Khan said the committee chairman had been appointed federal ombudsman and there’s confusion whether he would be replaced or continue to perform his duties as head. He said another member of the committee had recently returned from abroad and the notices for personal hearing to the remaining officers would be issued soon.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2017