ISLAMABAD: Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, special assistant to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development, contends that mere allegations are not sufficient to remove someone from office.

Popularly known as Zulfi, Mr Bukhari — who is facing corruption charges — is said to be a close friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“No one resigns over just allegations. Moreover, soon it will be proved that all the allegations against me were wrong,” he said while speaking to reporters during the launching ceremony of different initiatives of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development (OPHRD) on Monday.

Mr Bukhari expressed the hope that his name would soon be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Expresses hope that his name will soon be struck off from Exit Control List

It is worth mentioning that Mr Bukhari has been facing allegations of having offshore companies. He has reportedly failed to give a satisfactory response to the National Accountability Bureau due to which his name has been put on the ECL.

Currently, a case is being heard by the Islamabad High Court to remove his name from the ECL. Mr Bukhari hoped that the case would be concluded by next week.

In reply to a question about corruption in the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), Mr Bukhari said the ministry was preparing a white paper over the issue and soon it would be published.

“It is not possible that the EOBI chairman would do corruption of billions of rupees, but the minister remains unaware. I assume that the minister was also involved in it,” he said.

Call Sarzameen

Earlier, Mr Bukhari inaugurated a website ‘Call Sarzameen’. He said that the website would enable overseas Pakistanis to lodge complaints round the clock, adding that they would be able to check the status of their complaints.

He said the Ministry of OPHRD was the first ministry which had introduced the e-system due to which it had become possible to check the status of every file.

“Moreover, now files cannot be lost or tampered with as every amendment in the file will be saved and that record cannot be corrupted or deleted. Officers will be able to track every file and see why it was delayed and for how long it remained stagnant at one table,” he said.

A new website of the ministry was also launched at the occasion. It was informed that it was a comprehensive website due to which overseas Pakistanis would be able to get all relevant information.

In response to a question about the difficulties being faced by overseas Pakistanis, Mr Bukhari said that issues of overseas Pakistanis were being resolved. Efforts were also being made to send more Pakistanis to different countries, he added.

“We want to get a handsome percentage in the total labour hired in different countries and would take up the matter with those countries,” he said.

A number of ministers and political personalities, including Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, Minister of State for Communications Murad Saeed, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Media Iftikhar Durrani and Parliamentary Secretary Javeria Zafar Aheer, were present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2018