PESHAWAR: Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry has charge-sheeted former district health officer of North Waziristan for running fake polio campaign, restoring services of terminated employees and making illegal appointments, directing him to explain his position within two weeks.

Dr Hafizullah Khan, the former DHO of North Waziristan, currently medical officer in Mohmand, was found to be unwilling to participate in supplementary immunisation activities (SAIs) as he failed to implement the evening review meetings’ decisions regarding campaign and manage the health staff to take part in polio campaigns effectively.

The doctor in BPS-17 also compromised on accountability of the staff during his tenure as DHO which resulted in detection of two polio cases in the last week of April 2022 in North Waziristan.

The charge sheet issued from the office of chief secretary also said that Dr Hafizullah also issued salaries to 296 employees, who had been terminated by health department after an inquiry revealed that most of them were recruited illegally and some of them were abroad but they received salaries.

The DHO, the charge sheet, said also concealed the facts about those employees from the director-general health services (DGHS) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“The employees continued to receive salaries and caused losses to national kitty of an amount of Rs2.5 million, which showed negligence on your part,” it said. It added that he also appointed nine employees on deceased’s son quota.

A clerk has also been included in the charge sheet.

“Therefore, you appear to be guilty of misconduct under Rule-3 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2011, and have rendered yourself to all or any of the penalties specified in Rule-4. You are, therefore, required to submit your written defence within 10 days and not more than two weeks to the inquiry officers and also intimate if you want to be heard in person,” said the charge sheet.

The DHO has been instructed to comply with the directives and reach the inquiry committee within the given time. “In case of failure it shall be presumed that you have no defence to put in and in that case ex-parte action shall be taken against you,” it said.

A two-member committee including Shahid Khan, a BPS-19 officer, and Mohammad Shoaib, also a BPS-19 officer, has been constituted to start formal inquiry against the former DHO and submit its report to chief secretary regarding polio and recruitment issue accordingly.

Separately, another inquiry committee relating to fake appointments has also been formed under Faiz Alam, a BPS-19 officer, with Dr Fazl Maula, the DHO of Kohat, to probe the matter.

The first inquiry has been started on complaint of World Health Organisation that fake vaccination campaign has been shown in papers and there are stances of fake finger-marking. The deputy commissioner of the relevant district had also complained that the DHO didn’t attend evening meetings regarding polio immunisation.

Earlier, an inquiry had taken place but the chief secretary didn’t agree with its recommendations and rejected the same and ordered fresh probe into the matter.

Sources said that the chief secretary had directed that laxity would not be tolerated in polio immunisation.

Recently, he issued instructions to all deputy commissioners, district police officers and district officers to ensure their active participation in polio-related meetings to wipe out the crippling ailment.

Sources said that fake finger-marking had become a chronic issue, which showed children as vaccinated despite that fact that their fingers were marked with indelible ink without vaccinating them. “Legally, vaccinators mark the fingers of vaccine’s recipients after giving them drops,” they said.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2024