KARACHI, March 3: The Pakistan Steel Mills has paid to its chairman more than Rs2.6 million as arrears and back benefits for a period from February 1996 to December 2002, it is learnt.
According to the sources, the payment to the chairman has been authorized by chairman Col M. Afzal Khan (retd) himself.
The sources said the period also included more than two years and eights months - from February 1996 to December 1998 - when the Pakistan Steel chief, Col M. Afzal Khan (retd), was not in the service of the mills.
The sources said the federal government in its February 7, 1996 letter to the Pakistan Steel had ordered that “the competent authority has been pleased to terminate the contract appointment of Lt-Col M. Afzal Khan (retd), general manager of the PSFCL, with immediate effect.”
The sources said the official challenged his termination in the Sindh High Court, and a division bench, comprising the chief justice and another judge, on June 3, 1998 dismissed the petition as not maintainable.
The high court order further said: “The petitioner may, if he feels aggrieved by the impugned order, approach the Federal Service Tribunal in view of section 2A thereof aforesaid. In view of the above order, this has become infractuous and is dismissed.”
The government, after some time, withdrew the termination order and appointed Col Afzal (retd) the managing director on November 30, 1998 and later on promoted him to the post of chairman on December 20, 1999.
The Pakistan Steel Mills on November 26, 2002 refixed the pay and allowances of the Steel Mills chief. In his December 2, 2002 letter Manager (Pay Roll) S. Samiullah Farouqi sought approval from the competent authority for the payment of Rs2.6 million as arrears of pay, allowances, etc for the period from February 2, 1996 to November 30, 2002.
The competent authority, Pakistan Steel chairman Lt-Col Afzal (retd), gave the approval on Dec 3 that the amount of around Rs2.6 million be paid to him.
The sources said since the official took over charge of the Pakistan Steel nearly 10,000 workers had been sent home under various schemes — voluntary retirement scheme, downsizing, rightsizing, forced retirement, sacking following disciplinary action, etc — one of the main reasons being put forward by the management was that it had been done to bring down the expenses of the Steel Mills.
