Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to appoint a Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) cadre officer as the head of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has led to resentment among the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cadre officers who worked under protest at FBR offices across the country on Wednesday.

The Establishment Division had on Tuesday notified the appointment of Dr Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan, a BS-22 officer in the PAS, as the new chairman of the FBR.

Earlier, Khan was serving as the secretary of the Board of Investment (BoI).

IRS cadre officers in the FBR came to work at offices across the country wearing black armbands to register their protest over the appointment of a person ‘with no background in the field’ to head the top tax body of the country. They maintained that only IRS officers should be considered for the chairpersonship of the Bureau. The PAS officers do not have the understanding of tax-related matters, the protesters said, adding that the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government would not be able to achieve its tax targets and reform the sector with an ‘non-professional’ heading the Bureau.

As many as 84 FBR officers from zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 have signed a petition to be lodged with the federal government to formally register their protest on the appointment. In the petition, IRS cadre officers have demanded an immediate review of the decision.

Jahanzeb Khan has also appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) teams investigating alleged embezzlement of funds in 56 companies formed in the Punjab during the previous government’s tenure. These companies were formed under the Article 42 of Companies Ordinance 1984 with a stated aim of improving delivery of public services. Khan was summoned by the NAB because he was serving as the chairman of the Planning & Development Board in Punjab when the companies started functioning.

Published in Daily Times, August 30^th 2018.