ISLAMABAD: The weapon used in the alleged suicide of Controller General of Accounts (CGA) — chief of the premier accounting office — Khurram Humayun, has been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency.

The sudden death of the high-profile bureaucrat has generated debate in the civil bureaucracy.

Mr Humayun was promoted to BS-22 about a couple of years back. He was to retire in March 2022.

According to his colleagues, in addition to a pending reference in the Accountability Court of Islamabad against him, an ongoing departmental inquiry over recent posting and transfers under his administrative control had also upset Mr Humayun.

Colleagues say officer was disturbed over inquiry against him

As per the initial police investigation, the pistol used in the alleged suicide fired two bullets; one hit a window while the other broke the officer’s skull.

Police sources are of the opinion that Mr Humayun had fired the bullet towards the windows, possibly to test the pistol.

The CGA is the head of five accountants general — Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh. Since the office deals with the cash flow and release of funds to the federal as well as the provincial governments, the post is considered coveted and powerful.

An official of the CGA office said that Mr Humayun was under tremendous stress over the inquiry related to posting and transfers made during September onward. Though an initial inquiry conducted by a junior officer had cleared him as well as his other associates, someone had referred this matter to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as complaint, which was in the process of verification.

NAB’s spokesman Nawazish Ali Asim, when contacted, expressed ignorance about receipt of such a complaint. He, however, said that Mr Humayun had been nominated as accused in the reference related to alleged corruption of a former chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

He said that the inquiry into BISP was initiated in the light of the Supreme Court’s observation in 2013. He further said that the investigation office summoned Mr Humayun in 2018 for recording his statement and a reference in this matter was filed before the accountability court in June 2020.

According to Mr Asim, after 2018, no officer from NAB has ever contacted Mr Humayun.

The NAB reference was about an alleged embezzlement of Rs1.657 billion where the BISP top administration awarded an illegal contract to an advertising agency involving the then chairperson, Farzana Raja, and some other accused, including Mr Humayun, in 2009-11.

Mr Humayun was the director general of accounts in the BISP at the time. It has been alleged in the reference that the BISP awarded contracts to advertising agencies in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 amounting to Rs1.647bn in violation of Public Procurement Rules. It was further alleged that out of the said Rs1.647bn, business of Rs1.467bn was awarded to one advertising agency.

A former colleague of Mr Humayun told Dawn that in addition to this case, Mr Humayun was also having multiple issues, including some domestic problems.

Mr Humayun’s father was the owner of a local newspaper which had been closed over financial issues about three decades back.

He belonged to the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service (PAAS) and was the most senior officer of this cadre and next in line to be Auditor General of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2021