LAHORE: Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s “goodwill” gesture of taking along a select group of bureaucrats to Umrah, bearing the tour cost, is not sitting well with many as they see it as his “investment” to strengthen relations with bureaucracy – to be used after he leaves provincial chief executive’s office.

The bureaucrats, who accompanied the chief minister to Saudi Arabia for performing Umrah from Jan 24 to 29, are Additional Chief Secretary Ahmad Raza Sarwar, SMBR Nabeel Javed, P&D Board chairman Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Home Secretary Mian Shakeel, Health Secretary Ali Jan Khan, housing and urban development department secretary Sajid Zafar, C&W Secretary Sohail Ashraf, Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Multan Commissioner Muhammad Abdul Aamer, PSO to CM Zain Asim and PRO to CM Rafiullah.

In April last year, Mr Naqvi had also taken Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Punjab IG Dr Usman Anwar and others on an Umrah tour, bearing the cost.

When contacted, Chief Secretary Mr Zaman said all expenses were paid by the caretaker chief minister himself and not a single penny from the public exchequer was spent on the tour.

“All foreign tours’ expenses were paid by the chief minister himself,” he added.

Though Mr Zaman suggested that some officers might have paid for their air travel from their own pockets, CM’s PRO Rafiullah confirmed that all the expenses were paid by Mr Naqvi himself as he took those along, who worked with him diligently.

Sources in the bureaucracy claim that a couple of officers had declined the offer saying that they would like to go to perform Umrah from their own pocket. They said whatever the officers did during the last year was their duty.

ACS Ahmad Raza Sarwar, when asked whether it was appropriate for bureaucrats to accept such gifts’ or rewards’ from a politician for performing their official duty, opted to stay mum.

Another officer, who accompanied the chief minister on the tour, said it was a good gesture by the chief minister and they accepted it knowing that he was on his way out of his office. “We did want to pay our airfare, but Mr Naqvi insisted it would be on him,” he added.

When asked if the tour is Mr Naqvi’s “investment” in bureaucracy for maintaining long-term relations, the officer said the chief minister did not need to do this for the purpose, as he had cordial relations with officers throughout his tenure.

“If a political boss’ behaviour is not good with his team of bureaucrats, offering 10 such Umra tours will not bring him any dividends,” he said. “But if the boss’ behavior is good, then it is a lifetime investment,” he added.

The officer also said that politicians and bureaucrats had a legal relationship as both worked closely in the cabinet, which is government. The bureaucrats only work as implementation machinery on the instructions of the cabinet, he added.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2024