MULTAN, March 12: The Punjab health department has cancelled the transfer orders of a clerk-cum-cashier of the office of district officer (health), Multan, on the directive of the Lahore High Court.

The Multan bench of the Lahore High Court had on March 18 directed the Punjab Health Services Director-General to submit within 15 days a report on a petition filed by clerk-cum-cashier in the office of district officer (health), Muhammad Ayub Sani.

Mr Sani is the second official who moved the Lahore High Court for the cancellation of his transfer, “which has been ordered to please a National Accountability Bureau official and an Anti-Corruption Establishment assistant director holding probe against some senior officials of the health department.”

Earlier, dispenser Muhammad Zareef had also moved the LHC against the highhandedness of ACE assistant director Ali Akbar Bhatti.

In the writ petition submitted to the Multan bench of the LHC on Feb 14, 2002, Mr Sani said that the Punjab health services DG ordered his transfer from Multan to Sialkot to “teach him a lesson for not obliging the NAB and ACE officials.”

He submitted that the NAB had initiated an inquiry against Multan’s former director of health services, Dr Muhammad Iqbal Khan, and former district health officer Dr Iftikhar Ahmed.

The NAB directed ACE assistant director Ali Akbar Bhatti to probe into charges against the two senior health department officials.

Mr Sani said the ACE official summoned him in his office in Multan on Jan 26, 2002, and forced him to sign a plain paper. On refusal, the ACE official threatened him of dire consequences, including institution of criminal cases against him.

The ACE official had been humiliating him since then and meanwhile obtained his signatures on a blank paper.

Later, Mr Bhatti summoned him to Lahore and produced him before NAB additional director (investigations), Col Sultan Mahmood. Both the officials forced him to give statements against Dr Khan and Dr Iftikhar.

On his refusal, he was kept in a torture cell where the ACE official continued to force him to sign the statement. On his persistent refusals, he was set free. Mr Sani said that on Feb 11, 2002, he received orders by Punjab health services DG, transferring him to Sialkot from Multan. He submitted that the DG can not transfer him as now his posting and transfer rests with the office of DO (health), Multan. He submitted that the motive behind the transfer to a distant district could be judged from the fact that the DG office had sent a copy of the orders to the NAB additional director for information and necessary action, though the NAB official had nothing to do with the transfers and postings in the health department.

The Punjab health services DG had also transferred dispenser Muhammad Zareef and medical technician Dost Muhammad to Okara from Multan and sent the copies of the orders to the NAB and ACE officials.

The two officials had refused to give statements against Dr Khan and Dr Iftikhar.

Mr Bhatti also harassed a surgeon of the Lodhran district headquarters hospital and his wife.

In a letter to the NAB chairman on Feb 13, Lodhran DHQ hospital’s consultant surgeon Muhammad Aslam had alleged that Mr Bhatti had been forcing him and his wife for the last two months to give statements against Dr Khan and Dr Iftikhar.

Mr Bhatti has been investigating against Dr Khan on the report of Sharif Ansari, a former employee of the health department. Ansari was sacked by Dr Khan over the charges of inefficiency and malpractices.

Ali Akbar Bhatti was a city magistrate in Multan in 2000. The then deputy commissioner of Multan directed him to hold an inquiry against Dr Khan on the application of Sharif Ansari.

In his inquiry report (No 7503-M dated 10.4.2000), Mr Bhatti had declared the allegations levelled by Mr Ansari against Dr Khan as baseless.

The district magistrate said in an order (No 975/RDM dated 27.04.2000) that according to the report of city magistrate Ali Akbar Bhatti the allegations against Dr Khan were proved false, frivolous and baseless. —Correspondent