June 15, 2002	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, June 14: The chief executive’s secretariat has expressed displeasure over unauthorised appointment of two members in National Highway Authority.

Establishment division sources said that the CE’s secretariat had also refused to extend the contract of member, planning, Najamul Hassan Syed, and ordered to revert member, operations, Azizul Haq Mirza, as operations general manager.

The NHA had moved a summary last month seeking extension in the service contract of Najam and Aziz as members, said the sources.

The establishment division objected to the extension on the grounds that there was no record of their earlier promotion from general managers to members in the first place, so there was no question of extension in their contract as both had retired as GMs.

The NHA had taken the stand that the communications minister, the NHA chairman, had approved promotion of the GMs (BS-19) to members (BS-20).

The establishment division, however, informed the chief executive’s secretariat that it required clearance by the division and approval by the CE.

The division also pointed out that Mirza’s previous post, Lt-Col, was equivalent to BS-19 and he could not be posted against the BS-20 post.

The ministry and the division are looking into the legal question whether contracts signed by Aziz Mirza as member are valid.

The establishment division has also told the CE secretariat that the NHA had given the charge of three posts of BS-18, 19 and 20 to an officer of BS-18 and refused to entertain various officers posted by the division as NHA secretary.

When contacted, NHA officials said that Managing Director Maj-Gen Farrukh Javed and the operations member operations were in the United Arab Emirates to seek foreign investment.