Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has agreed with most of the observations of Establishment Division in which massive irregularities were found in NAB appointments.

Establishment Secretary Tahir Shahbaz, complying with the Supreme Court order in suo motu case, had observed inconsistencies in 273 cases of appointments, promotions, deputations and contracts in NAB.

Following which the court ordered Khawaja Haris, counsel for NAB, to submit a reply.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim will take up the case for hearing on Monday.

Now, NAB in its reply agreed and said that 38 cases of initial appointments were those wherein the candidates’ experience was not acquired purely in field of investigation, inquiry, research or legal matters. Regarding 19 cases of experience certificate, NAB stated that these certificates were sought during the probation period. However, 39 cases were those for which the experience was not mentioned in advertisements.

Regarding appointments by promotions, NAB while agreeing with the Establishment Division said that 18 cases of inconsistencies were those wherein the qualifying service of the officers was less than prescribed length of service.

While seven officials who had not completed the mandatory training had been retired, it added.

“Except Aliya Rashid in whose case SC ordered for equal treatment viz-a-viz those who were promoted earlier without mandatory training. Therefore she was promoted,” NAB stated.

Regarding ranks of additional directors, NAB agreed with the observations and said that 44 officers were those whose qualifying service in NAB was less than the prescribed length.

However, it added that Mukaram Abbas Baig was removed from the service on the ground that he was promoted without the consideration of eligibility threshold.

The report said that information of Establishment Division regarding 9th meeting of DPC and consideration of 207 cases for promotion to the post of deputy director was correct.

NAB also agreed with the inconsistencies in 62 cases, made in the said DPC.

With this agreement, NAB also agreed inconsistencies in nine other cases in appointments of deputy director rank as these were not qualifying the required length of service.

A total of 32 officers were inducted inconsistently out of which 17 had been retired while 15 were still serving, read the reply.