ISLAMABAD: A three-member committee tasked with examining about 300 ‘inconsistent’ appointments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is likely to start its proceedings next week.

However, the appointment of one of the members of the committee in NAB is still under a judicial scrutiny.

Headed by Secretary Establishment Syed Tahir Shahbaz, the committee comprises Habibullah Khan Khattak, member Federal Public Service Commission, and NAB’s Human Resources Director General Mohammad Shakil Malik.

Sources told Dawn that the committee would examine about 300 inductions and promotions of assistant directors, deputy directors, directors and directors general.

Three-member body has been constituted on directions of Supreme Court

Interestingly, the appointment of Mr Malik in NAB is under the scrutiny of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

A petition filed by former deputy director NAB Umar Zaman stated that Mr Malik was working as a joint secretary (grade 20) in the Establishment Division when he joined NAB on deputation and was given grade 21.

The petitioner claimed that in the light of various judgments of the superior courts, an officer cannot be given one-step promotion due to deputation.

When contacted by Dawn, Mr Malik insisted that his services were requisitioned by NAB where he was given grade 21 in accordance with the procedure and rules.

He said the Central Selection Board (CSB) at its meeting in December 2016 had recommended his promotion to grade 21 and the prime minister in February this year approved the promotions of civil servants as recommended by the CSB.

He said he would submit the notification of his promotion to grade 21 to the court whenever the case was fixed for hearing.

The apex court last year had taken notice of the ‘inconsistent’ appointments in NAB.

During the hearing of the matter, the Establishment Division pointed out scores of appointments made in violation of rules but informed the court that the report related to these appointments and promotions had been prepared without giving an opportunity of hearing to the officials. Subsequently, the court constituted the three-member committee to examine the appointments after giving the officials an opportunity of defence.

Sources in NAB said after the apex court judgment on illegal appointments in NAB, 33 officers, including three directors general, opted for premature retirement.

The sources said the committee had divided the 300 appointment and promotion cases in two categories.

In the first category, the committee would consider the cases of over 100 officers who did not fulfil the necessary qualifications but were given higher positions.

In the second category, cases of officers who lacked experience but were appointed on higher posts would be taken up.

Though the Supreme Court has set a two-month timeframe for the exercise, the sources said the committee would have to summon the officers and give them an opportunity of hearing and the process would take at least four months.

The bureau has already informed the apex court that it de-notified its four DGs - Burhan Ali, Shabbir Ahmed, Tariq Mehmood Dawar, all retired army majors, and Aliya Rashid, a sportswoman.

However, after the removal of the four DGs, NAB made Nasir Iqbal as the DG Rawalpindi region, who was working in the inland revenue service of the Federal Board of Revenue in grade 20, and promoted him to grade 21.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2017