KARACHI, Sept 26: The city government functionaries appear lacking a decent reason to frame a charge-sheet against the 21 fire officers and firemen who were put under suspension by the district coordination officer on Sept 1.

It seldom happens in any emergency service that such a large number of personnel are suspended in a go though the officials, according to the city nazim, had different complaints pending against them. However, a senior official says that the department found them an easy scapegoat to put on the blame of its miserable failure in PNSC fire incident.

None of the suspended officials had been deputed anywhere else like the 100 privileged personnel who are posted in other departments for a simple nine-to-five office job with all the perks and benefits of a fireman. Besides, there are around 30 odd personnel (ghost employees) with political backing in the fire department, sources said, adding that they simply draw their salaries at home.

With Eid-ul-Fitr approaching fast, the suspended personnel are in a fix how they will bear the expenses as most of them have chosen not to let their families know about their suspension, remarked one of the affected official.

Suspensions come at a time when morale of the firemen in the department is at its lowest ebb, coupled with serious inadequacies in resources such as fire tenders. Interestingly, the functionaries heading the fire department look the other way when it comes to irregularities and nepotism.

This seems true in the case of Shamim Ahmed, an employee who was promoted to sub-fire officer from the ambulance attendant this year at the age close to his retirement. Though he is enrolled as a sub-fire officer in the roll call of the Orangi Fire Station and draws salary from there, he has never reported to the station to take part in active duty.

“Since his promotion to sub-fire officer, Mr Ahmed has never taken part in any fire fighting operation which he is supposed to do in accordance with his designation. Instead he sits at the Civic Centre,” said the station fire officer of the Orangi Town.

Insiders accuse Mr Ahmed of being involved in financial irregularities while preparing salaries of the staff members who face a lot of trouble for getting the same corrected. The pay vouchers, which must be handed over to the employees, are treated as a ‘state secret’ in the fire department. The firemen are not furnished with pay voucher, instead Mr Ahmed who also plays cashier/accountant keeps the voucher close to his heart, firemen complained, saying that he had been arrested by the anti-corruption establishment in 1990 and then imprisoned for his involvement in financial irregularities.