ISLAMABAD: The National Account­ability Bureau filed on Friday a reference in Accountability Court, Islamabad, against Mola Bux Awan, a former joint secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Works, on a charge of allowing illegal recruitment in the Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD) on daily wages basis.

The official was accused of making illegal appointments during the tenure of the PPP government in 2012 despite the fact that there was a ban on fresh appointments.

A NAB spokesperson said Mr Awan was given additional charge of acting secretary in the housing ministry for three days to look after routine work in the absence of the then secretary who was on a foreign trip.

In violation of the ban on recruitments, the then director general of Pak-PWD without obtaining a no-objection certificate from the Establishment Division submitted a request for giving extension to the service period of 92 employees and making fresh appointment of 654 people on Feb 14, 2012.

The request was approved by Mr Awan the next day allegedly in violation of rules.

A NAB investigation team estimated that the decision by the accused had caused a loss of Rs6.32 million to exchequer.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2014