ISLAMABAD: A senior bureaucrat appears to have become collateral damage of the friction between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government and the military establishment.
Shahid Rashid was inexplicably removed from his post as establishment secretary after he rejected a summary for bringing the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) under the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta).
The PML-N government is trying to bring the NCMC, which is also called the ‘eyes and ears’ of the nation, under Nacta, a move that some officials claim is opposed by the intelligence agencies.
Formerly known as Federal Control Room since 1947, the NCMC was reorganised in Oct 2000, a year after General Pervez Musharraf came to power. Its functions included crisis control, intelligence coordination and data management, monitoring counter-terrorism, security situation and coordinating with foreign missions over these issues. Reportedly, it is mostly headed by military officers.
Against this backdrop, Shahid Rashid, who was till recently serving as Establishment Secretary - one of the three highest positions in the federal civil service – rejected a summary forwarded to him by the Interior Ministry.
The summary ordered that the charge of NCMC be given to Member Nacta.
Shortly afterwards he was assigned low profile assignment in the Statistics Division.
Rashid, who is going to retire in November this year, was given the charge of Secretary Establishment in June last year.
He said that he did not “know the reason for” for his transfer.
When asked about the summary, he replied, “Whatever I did it was in accordance with the law; I only followed the rules and conveyed to the Interior Ministry that certain procedures be followed.”
On April 23, he was posted to Statistics Division, a day after he returned the summary to the Interior Ministry.
Secretary Interior Shahid Khan had forwarded the summary to the Establishment Division on March 31 with the apparent consent of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The March 31 summary – on the surface – appeared to be about the grant of leave prior to retirement (LPR) of Wing commander (retired) Tariq A. Lodhi, who headed NCMC.
However, in the second half of the summary, it was stated that since he was going on leave, NCMC should be given to Member Nacta’s supervision.
Rashid had suggested that the Interior Ministry “initiate a separate proposal, in consultation with the stake holders concerned and explaining the detailed reason/justification and implications” for handing NCMC to Nacta member.
This summary was, in fact, contrary to the National Internal Security Policy (NISP) which had suggested that NCMC be merged with the Directorate of Intelligence Security (DIS) to facilitate the sharing of information and for better coordination.
Officials claimed that the intelligence agencies had prepared the proposal for the DIS which is currently pending before Secretary Interior Shahid Khan.
They claimed that the agencies had suggested that the DIS be headed by a retired army officer who had served in the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) or the Military Intelligence (MI) or a grade 21 officer.
The intelligence agencies wanted NCMC to continue independently while the DIS acted as the bridge between intelligence agencies and Nacta.
However, the government acted differently, moving to shift NCMC under Nacta.
SHUFFLING AROUND: Though it is not clear if Rashid was transferred because of his decision, governments have traditionally shifted civil servants around when the latter have ignored the wishes of the elected ones.
For instance, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in 2011 dumped then Secretary Establishment Sohail Ahmed after he posted FIA’s director Hussain Asghar from Gilgit-Baltistan to FIA Headquarter. The government had reportedly not wanted Asghar investigating cases implicating the PPP officials.
The PPP government had transferred Asghar to slow down the Hajj scandal investigations.
Likewise, in January 2012, Lt Gen (retired) Naeem Khalid Lodhi also earned the government’s ire when he did not sign an affidavit on the memogate issue prepared by then government functionaries. The affidavit conflicted with the written statements of the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and then Director General ISI Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha which they submitted in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Apart from the examples from the PPP era, the perception that PML-N punished Rashid strengthens when his replacement is brought into the picture. He was replaced by Nadeem Hassan Asif as Secretary Establishment. Asif served Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif as Principal Secretary and after the May 11 victory, he was appointed chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA).
Sources in the Interior Ministry told Dawn that bringing the NCMC under the Nacta had also made the military unhappy with the PML-N government.
When contacted Pervez Rashid, federal minister for Information and Broadcasting, said that postings and transfers of civil servants were a routine.
“There are a number of reasons for transferring an officer.” he added.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2014