April 7, 2003	Monday	Safar 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, April 6: A deputy director of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) has served notice on a private security agency for the failure of its guards to perform according to the agreement signed with the centre.

The private security guards were hired in place of 29 guards of the National Agriculture Research Centre, whose services were terminated.

The deputy director (administration) of the NARC, Bashir Ahmed Hijaz, in the notice served on the owner of the private security agency, said: “I am directed to convey with great concern that the security staff deployed by your company is not up to the required standard as agreed in the agreement signed between the NARC and your company.

“According to the agreement, your firm is bound to deploy skilled, qualified ex-servicemen and below 45 years of age staff for security purpose at the NARC. But, your firm has deployed unskilled, unqualified and old-age persons on security duties.”

Moreover, the security guards are also performing their duties continuously beyond eight-hours/double shift, which affects their performance and also is not according to the agreement, it added.

A source told Dawn that the private security company had also received a notice from the centre’s administration on a recent theft incident at the NARC.

He said termination of the services of 29 security guards was made to save Rs167,000 annually. However, the security risks had become quite high at the NARC after the removal of 29 trustworthy security guards who had been working with the centre since 1993.

Meanwhile, some sacked security guards told Dawn that the centre’s administration had promised them that they would be reinstated, but these appeared to be delaying tactics.

They said the PARC chairman, Badaruddin Soomro, had held a meeting with a delegation of the sacked guards, and assured them that they would be reinstated within a month. But, not a single guard was reinstated in the given time, they added.

The sacked guards said they had faxed letters to President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Minister for Food and Livestock Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, requesting them for reinstatement.

They said the NARC administration told them that the contract of all security guards, who had been working for the last three to 10 years, would not be renewed in future.

They said hiring private security guards at the cost of the jobs of 29 security guards could be of monetary interest to someone in the NARC.

“To accommodate a private agency for any sort of kickback or commission at the cost of the jobs of security guards is tantamount to committing a crime,” the sacked guards told Dawn.

They said the security guards, who had been serving in the NARC on daily wages since 1993, had crossed the age of 30 years and now they were ineligible to qualify for jobs in the government sector where the age limit was 25 years.