KOHAT: The anti-corruption department here has registered FIRs against four-member promotion committee, including a dead project director of Kohat Development Authority (KDA), for elevating three officials to higher grades in a short span of a few years.

Sources said that the most serious case was that of superintendent Qazi Burhan who was transferred from tehsil municipal administration as surplus employee and appointed in grade-2, but promoted to grade-17 within nine months.

It has been learnt that there were two superintendents already on the strength of KDA and Mr Burhan was working as ghost employee and just drawing salary. Similarly, Asim Paracha and Aamir Ali Shah, grade-14 and grade-5 employees, respectively, were appointed and promoted against the rules, according to the anti-corruption department.

The anti-corruption department, Kohat, has registered FIRs against late deputy director Abdul Ghaffar, assistant director Nawaz Khan, accounts officer Hidayatullah Khan and Amir Khan who were members of the promotion committee. However, nobody could be arrested so far. The cases of Aamir Shah, grade-17, and Hidayatullah, also in grade-17, had been sent to the chief secretary for their arrest.

The committee had promoted three officials in violation of rules

Meanwhile, Mr Burhan had moved the Supreme Court and pleaded that his promotion from grade-2 to grade-17 in nine months was recommended by the promotion committee and therefore it was legal.

Similarly, Asim Paracha has filed a review application with the director anti-corruption, Usman Khan, against the Kohat officials for stopping them from registering the FIR taking the same stance that he was promoted to grade-14 in 18 years with the consent of promotion body.

The audit department has also ordered the KDA to recover Rs1.7 million paid as salary to Aamir Shah.

The sources said that late superintendent Ishaq Paracha who retired and died over 20 years ago had also been nominated in the FIR. The circle officer of anti-corruption department, inspector Saadat Khan, when contacted by this scribe and asked why the accused had not been arrested despite passage of a week after registration of FIRs and the case filed against a dead officer, he hanged up the phone.

A former assistant circle officer now working on additional post of reader to circle officer, Kafeel Khan, however, told this correspondent that they had received complaints against the officials which proved correct when they checked the audit report. Later, they contacted the office of the auditor general office, which approved the cases.

GOVT CRITICISED: Provincial president of minority wing of Pakistan Peoples Party, Pir Naseeb Chand, has said that prices of essential commodities are increasing due to wrong economic policies of the government.

In a statement here on Saturday, he alleged that corruption and nepotism was high in the hierarchy of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. He said that the government was only victimising the opposition to hide its own corruption. He demanded of NAB to also open cases against ministers and arrest them, saying that they would not accept targeted accountability.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2019