MUZAFFARABAD: While the attention of the whole country is focused on the ongoing sit-ins in the federal capital, a bizarre scene is being witnessed in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Civil Secretariat for the past four consecutive days, with a huffy cabinet member performing his duties in the open in protest against a ‘lent officer.’

Mohammad Tahir Khokhar, minister for transport and cooperatives and parliamentary leader of MQM in the AJK assembly, attends his visitors at what he describes his “camp office” on a mini roundabout that faces almost all important offices on the premises of the secretariat.

Every morning, his staff brings chairs and a table along with table flags of Pakistan and AJK as well as a portrait of MQM chief Altaf Hussain. Some small panaflax banners and placards are also displayed. The minister arrives after a little while and remains there till 1 p.m.

The minister attends his visitors at his “camp office” on a mini roundabout

Not only this, they also install two speakers and a CD player, loudly playing national songs throughout the presence of Mr Khokhar, to the amusement of some and chagrin of others.

The scene also unveils the sorry state of affairs in the People’s Party led coalition government in AJK, most of whose functionaries prefer to spend maximum time away from the state capital, either in the comforts of Kashmir House Islamabad or their respective constituencies.

It may be recalled that Mr Khokhar had rented out a 2-kanal plot of AJK Cooperative Bank (AJKCB) to a Lahore based transport company on a 3-year contract. However, the move reportedly met opposition from finance secretary Yousuf Khan, who is also administrative secretary of cooperatives department.

The finance secretary is among five senior officers transferred and posted in AJK by the federal government and commonly referred to as ‘lent officers.’

On August 21, Mr Khokhar lodged an FIR in the city police station, against the finance secretary, three employees of the AJKCB and around a dozen other unidentified persons for “inciting an assault on him, using abusive language and hurling death threats on him” during a visit to the plot a day earlier.The bizarre protest was launched by Mr Khokhar from Monday, in the wake of “inaction” by the police against the alleged accused.

On Wednesday, the police quashed the FIR reportedly under the directives of deputy commissioner “for want of any proof to establish Mr Khokhar’s allegations.”

According to Mr Khokhar, neither did the police hear him nor did they examine other witnesses, including the 15-police personnel who were present when he was “mistreated and threatened.”

Mr Khokhar had also been pressing for withdrawal of cooperatives department from the finance secretary.

However, despite assurances to this effect by acting Prime Minister Chaudhry Yasin no such notification had been issued, fuelling his anger.

Interestingly, the acting premier had appointed secretary transport authority to probe into the matter.

However, chief secretary Khizar Hayat Gondal was said to have disagreed with the move on the grounds that a BPS-18 officer could not hold inquiry against a BPS-21 officer.

Mr Khokhar said he had proposed a three-member ministerial committee to probe the matter, but that too was turned down by the chief secretary who instead favoured investigation by a judicial officer.

According to Mr Khokhar, he was constantly being persuaded by the acting prime minister and other government functionaries to stop protesting in this manner, but he declined to oblige them.

On Thursday, AJK assembly speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq also visited Mr Khokhar in his “camp office” and remained there for 30 minutes, but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2014