Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The dishonest officials of Capital Development Authority (CDA) had launched a character assassination campaign in media against a dead honest officer Shafaq Hashmi, who was neither involved in any corrupt practices nor accepted inducements from any one.

The corrupt staff member of CDA leveled the charges against the CDA’s former assistant director Syeda Shafaq Ali Hashmi, a bureaucrat from public administration services, that she was involved in crooked practices, bribe charges and land scams. The debris of entire irregularities in various directorates and wings like land acquisition, allotment, and enforcement, building control encroachment and estate plague was thrown on her.

Recently, the clear divide could be seen between law-abiding officials and those elements who have no regard for rules and regulation came to surface when a false and fictitious case of misplacement of file regarding sale of a commercial plots in sector I9 was instituted against Syeda Shafaq Ali Hashmi. Assistant Director Atta Bari with connivance of an assistant Muhammad Rauf recorded the statement in front of enquiry that Shafaq was involved in misplacing the files but as matter of fact the file was never marked to her.

Even the fact finding committee proved its prejudice against Shafaq Ali when the enquiry committee did not gave her a chance to record her statement. Later on, the departmental proceeding and inquiry proved her innocence as they noticed that the concerned files were never marked to her in the first place.

The curse of corrupt official and their unity against those who go by the book has engulfed CDA. The officers who come on deputation are considered as ‘outsiders’ from the very beginning and conspiracies are hatched against them.

Presently, many vital posts in CDA are held by officers who came on deputation. Among them are DMA Director Captain Shahbaz, Estate West Deputy Director Mazhar Hussain, Estate East Director Asim Khichi, Estate Commercial Deputy Director Saba Asim, Deputy Director Rana Farhan, Land and Estate Deputy Director General Abdul Salam Shah and others.

These officers have proved their mettle in their respective departments and are deputed in CDA so that their expertise can be used for the good of authority and public at large. The incident that happened with Syeda Shafaq Ali shows a mindset that has ingrained itself in CDA and the officer stayed at CDA for three years.

The deputationist-ranker divide, if we may call it, has caused havoc to the authority. The corrupt elements also have backing by some black sheeps in the field of journalists, who do their bidding in media. The libelous reports are published without any proof or substance to tarnish the name and repute of officers who say ‘no’ to illegal incentives.

The shadowy recruitment, out-of-turn promotions, money-driven postings and other illicit activities at CDA have become a norm and whenever someone dares to go against the tide, the high-ups to the rank and file at CDA teach them a lesson.

It is the time that CDA Chairman Maroof Afzal should take notice of such elements and purge the authority from such unwanted officials. CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid being repatriated to his parent department and his seat being vacant for time being so the comment on the matter could not be taken.