ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA) is preparing a list of those officials who were promoted illegally or on recommendation, Dawn learnt from officials on Tuesday.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has also launched an investigation into the matter and directed 68 officials to appear before an FIA team and record their statements.

Supreme Court had directed the authority to submit details regarding illegal promotions and re-designations of officers in CDA.

In this regard, CDA assistant director law wrote to the authority’s deputy director general human resource department and shared a copy of the order from the Supreme Court along with a notice issued by the same court.

FIA launches investigations into the matter as well and asks 68 officials to record their statements

The notice calls upon chairman CDA, secretary Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and the attorney general of Pakistan to assist the court on the issue of whether CDA can absorb officers of different departments through its board and if CDA employees can be transferred to other government departments in “defiance” of the principles laid down in the judgment reported in two other proceedings.

The notice also says that a detailed statement shall be filed by CDA and concerned ministries within 15 days. They are to give the names of employees absorbed in CDA and those transferred to other government departments with justifications, as prima facie, all these postings, transfers and absorption are in violation of the principals laid down in the judgment of the cases referred to before.

The notice reads: “The chairman CDA and secretary CADD shall appear in person in case a concise statement is not filed within time”.

It is requested in the notice that the statement be submitted to the CDA’s Law Wing so it can submit it to the Supreme Court and to also attend the case along with the relevant record on April 4.

Meanwhile, FIA has summoned 68 CDA officials to record their statements for their alleged illegal promotions.

According to a letter, FIA is conducting an inquiry into allegations about the disappearances of personal files of officers who were illegally promoted between 2010 and 2013.

Sources said that the files of those officers who were illegally promoted during the PPP regime have disappeared from CDA’s records.

Of the 68 officers summoned, 39 were asked to appear before an FIA team on Tuesday and Friday and the remaining 29 have been directed to appear for investigations on April 11 and 12.

Officials at CDA said 18,000 employees worked at the authority and that of these some 15,000 were inducted as daily wagers and were later regularised or absorbed from different departments.

“There are some officials in the authority who started off in grade 4 and are now in grades 15 or 16 and they got promoted in a short period as well. Also, some 24 senior officials were absorbed into CDA in since 1994 and have been included in the list”, one official said.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2016