Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Sindh Rangers (SR) have informed in writing to the high ups of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to clean their offices of political elements.

Sindh Rangers have given a guarantee to the SBP and the NBP management that if any reaction comes from political parties over the action against political elements in their offices then the Rangers will be fully prepared to deal with it.

Well placed sources said Sindh Rangers had worked out lists of workers of political parties working in the offices of these banks after a thorough investigation. It also came to the knowledge of the SR during the investigation that officer bearers of some political parties run the party affairs while sitting in the different offices of these two banks.

The SR had detected 52 such office bearers of MQM who were working for the interest of their party and were receiving salaries from NBP accounts. The SR had filed this report to the finance ministry last year but no action was taken against the bank management and MQM office bearers because the finance ministry kept mum over it due to political expediencies. The NBP management did not implement the SR report for fear of losing life in target killings.

The SR had stepped up efforts for implementing this report and came to know that those appointed in the banks at the behest of political parties were using the bank branches as their party offices. Most of the ghost employees who were recruited on a political basis belonged to the MQM.

When contacted the NBP spokesman said the bank had sent letters to all political parties in the light of the SR letter that the bank be made free from all political activities and banks offices which were being used for political purpose be vacated forthwith.

The spokes man also said that all the persons appointed on political basis will be expelled from all the branches of the bank as per the SR deadline. As far as the matter of receiving salaries by the MQM office bearers was concerned the bank had conducted a thorough investigation and only one such person had surfaced who had been handed over to the FIA and further investigation was under way.

He brushed aside the impression that the NBP vehicles were being used by the criminals. There was no substance in the media reports on this count, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the SR report on ghost employees was sent to the Sindh government, the federal government and the finance ministry and as per this report 52 office bearers of the MQM were placed on the pay roll of the NBP.