ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has accused its former chairman Dr Javaid Laghari of illegally keeping an official vehicle and some IT equipment even after the expiry of his tenure in August 2013.

In addition, he also has to clear some bills of the commission, official documents of the HEC showed.

The HEC in its recent interaction with its former boss sought the official vehicle, an Apple laptop, IPad and clearance of some bills that also included Rs1.2 million which he had paid for the membership of the Islamabad Club.

According to the documents available with Dawn, the car (IDM-5333) is still in the possession of Dr Laghari.

Dr Javaid Laghari allegedly paid Islamabad Club membership fee from HEC funds

“The vehicle is in your custody despite the fact that you are not authorised to retain it after the expiry of your tenure as the chairman HEC,” stated a letter the HEC wrote to Dr Laghari on September 5.

In the letter, the HEC also responded to all the questions its former boss had raised in a reply to to the commission’s earlier reminders pertaining to the return of the assets.

In response to the commission’s request to pay back the Rs1.2 million, Dr Laghari stated that the commission had approved the payment under its powers to provide any additional benefit to its employees.

“There were no funds that I used or a decision I made as the chairman HEC. The matter is between the HEC and audit. The item may kindly be removed from the clearance.”

However, the HEC informed its former chief that all the facts were brought to the notice of the Department Accounts Committee (DAC) at a meeting held on January 29, 2014. The DAC members, especially the external members from the audit department, decided to recover the amount from the officer concerned. Hence, the audit para will only be settled on the refund of the Islamabad Club membership fee.

Interestingly, the laptop and IPad under the use of Dr Laghari have also become a controversy between the two parties. Dr Laghari wanted to purchase these two items from the commission at a depreciated price. But the HEC told him that it had never given an opportunity to any employee to buy/take IT equipment on their possession at the depreciated cost.

“Therefore, the cost of the IT equipment in your custody can’t be charged after working depreciation,” the letter added.

Similarly, the commission also directed Dr Laghari to pay back the exceeded amount, which according to the documents, he spent in terms of medical facility without any authority.

In response to an earlier reminder, the former chairman had claimed that the law allowed the status of federal minister to the HEC chairman. However, the commission in its latest reply maintained that as the chairman of HEC, Dr Laghari was entitled to the facilities available to officers in the MP-1 scale.

The HEC also requested its ex-boss to pay Rs27,244 in terms of fuel charges.

In response to an earlier reminder, the former chairman had informed the commission that the amount appeared to be inflated and should be rectified.

However, in the latest communication, the HEC told him that the amount of fuel charges on account of usage of the HEC vehicles in Islamabad had been calculated on the basis of the actual fuel consumption.

Despite repeated attempts, Dr Laghari could not be approached for comments. He even didn’t reply to a text message.

However, HEC spokesperson Ayesha Ikram on Monday confirmed to Dawn that the HEC was yet to take back some assets from its former boss.

“The correspondence regarding the return of the official vehicle and the Islamabad Club membership fee etc., is underway for some time now. It is hoped that the matter will be resolved amicably soon,” she said.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2014