PAC orders removal of NESPAK chief: “An architect cannot be the chief executive of an engineering consultancy company.”

PAC orders removal of NESPAK chief By Shahbaz Rana Published: January 25, 2013 The PAC has also directed the government to recover all costs of perks and facilities Khan received as head of Nespak. ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the removal of Asad Khan, the managing director of National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak), after investigations showed that Khan may have been appointed illegally as the head of the state-owned entity. The PAC has also directed the government to recover all costs of perks and facilities Khan received as head of Nespak. The PAC, with Pakistan Peoples Party’s Nadeem Afzal Chan in the chair, directed the water and power secretary to implement the orders within a month, or the PAC will hold the secretary responsible. The PAC says it has taken the decision on the basis of its subcommittee’s report. A PAC subcommittee had investigated the matter under Sardar Ayaz Sadiq of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The subcommittee says its findings have been backed by the Auditor General of Pakistan’s reports, and the legal opinion of Shahid Hamid, a former governor of Punjab. The opinion was provided by Hamid Law – Shahid Hamid’s law firm – which said that: “An architect cannot be the chief executive of an engineering consultancy company.” According to the bylaws of the Pakistan Engineering Council, only professional engineers can be appointed as head of Nespak. Asad Khan is an architect by profession, which, although an allied profession, renders him unqualified for appointment as head of the company. The PAC has also ordered the reversal of all promotions made to vice presidents’ posts in violation of prescribed rules, from the period between 2009 and 2012. The subcommittee’s findings had showed that the managing director finalised such promotions on a pick-and-choose basis, bypassing prescribed criteria. The PAC additionally ordered that all benefits extended to the vice presidents promoted illegally be revoked and accounted for. The posts of vice presidents had been doubled to 30 and every vice president cost the kitty Rs799,400 per month, the report stated. The PAC also nullified all direct appointments made to Grade 12, which is equivalent to BPS 20, and sought recoveries of benefits extended to such inductees. While presenting the report, Sadiq also alleged during his presentation that Ombudsman of Pakistan Salman Farooqi tried to steer the investigation through pressures tactics. Farooqi has allegedly been backing Khan due to his close relations with him. Sadiq also claimed Khan was so powerful that he had successfully created obstacles in investigations on many different occasions. During one of the subcommittee’s meetings, held in Lahore, Khan had purportedly disrupted proceedings for 45 minutes and barred four Nespak vice presidents from recording their statements. Water and Power Special Secretary Hamayuttallah Khan claimed the ministry had sought an explanation from Khan for disrupting the committee’s proceedings, but he never responded. The subcommittee said that rules and regulations had been flouted during Khan’s tenure and the the company seemed to be running on the whims of one man, on self-created rules of businesses. In an interesting case of alleged nepotism, the subcommittee’s findings showed that Tahir Shamshad was made vice president in 2010 from the back date of 2008 – a period during which he had been serving in the Capital Development Authority on deputation. Published in The Express Tribune, January 25th, 2013. Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation. ===============