Rana Tasaddaq Hussain Islamabad
Anti-corruption authorities have apprised the Prime Minister about alleged indiscriminate use of powers by BPS-22, PAS Officers posted on deputation to NHA.
PM has been told that entrusted role of secretary communications being Principal Accounting Officer is that of a watchdog who is required to ensure transparency in engineering, financial and administrative matters of the NHA.
Apparently objective behind bestowing dual charge of the posts of Secretary Communications with look after charge of Chairman, NHA to an allegedly corrupt officer is meant to bulldoze all Rules, Regulations, and Sop’s by clearing impediments which may come in the way of money making.
Shahid Ashraf Tarar, JawadRafique Malik and Khurram Agha all three BPS-22, PAS Officers have been given dual charge by the establishment division, on the alleged directions of principal secretary to the prime minister. References on account of corruption against all three is pending with the NAB, Rawalpindi.
National Highway Authority is a corporate, autonomous body, established through an Act of Parliament in 1991, with an executive board and highway council to govern it’s day to day affairs. The reason behind making NHA autonomous was to make it self sustainable, with minium involvement of federal government to make it least dependent on government resources.
Appointment of PAS Officers in NHA is now considered a deliberate attempt to steal, snatch and hijack resources established by the NHA in last three decades for the construction, operation and management of national highways, motorways and cpec.
PAS officers appointed on deputation to NHA have earned an extremely bad reputation and enough hatred for the PAS group, through their suspicious activities.
The questionable concession agreement executed by Shahid Ashraf Tarar in the light of which Lahore Islamabad Motorway Project was dished out to More Private Limited for twenty years, Messer’s Tarar along with his hand picked team made a good fortune out of said agreement but the department which was directly linked to the development of Pakistan-NHA was made to suffer a collosal revenue loss worth billion of rupees (2015-todate) due to above senseless decision.
JawadRafique Malik became even more generous and went on dishing out Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway to the same More Private Limited, after which he was elevated as Chief Secretary Punjab ignoring the fact that he was under investigation of NAB in SaafPaani Company reference.
Khurram Agha surpassed all when he managed to get NHA head office opened on a closed holiday for getting nod of executive board for handing over all motorways to the same party under the garb of one belt one road as a consequence of which the main source of revenue to the authority has been hijacked by using unfair practices.
Question arises that all mega projects including the Lahore Islamabad Motorway Project (M-2) was executed with the financial support of Korean Daewoo Corporation, Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) executed with the support of Turkish Exim Bank, Pindi-Bhattian Faisalabad-Multan-Sukkur Motorway with the support of Chinese for which NHA is paying back heavy debt with interest and is scheduled to pay even more to the foreign lenders .Handing over of above referred motorways to a party having no relevance in any matter starting from the award of contract to completion of such projects needs to be probed on merit.
PAS officers have been extraordinarily generous in sharing NHA guaranteed revenue with their batch mates for example: Bypassing the National Highway Council they shared NHA’s revenue (fine collection) with the national highway and motorways police. Over 5000 million plus rupees approximate has already been given to NHMP only in last two financial years. Out of which they have been using the same for their welfare purpose without any lawful authority.
While deviating from the laid down policy pas officers managed to dish out NHA guaranteed revenue in form of matching grant to their course mates posted in NHMP.
Recently the least bothered Khurram Agha opened another chapter of putting debt ridden authority under more financial stress by agreeing to procure and maintain transport fleet of national highway and motorways police, while deviating from the laid down procedures.
Despite audit observation and advice of general manager internal audit available on record regarding recovery of Rs. 20 billion rent in respect of NHA buildings in possession of NHMP from last 25 years, Khurram Agha paid no attention to the previous papers, observation and advice available on record and went on granting eight more nocs to the defaulter entity for establishing more commercial beats on roads network with zero return to NHA.
Repeated advice of the federal government was completely ignored and no restructuring of national highway executive board was taken into consideration by Khurram Agha. On the contrary representative of a defaulter entity owing billion of rupees to NHA is being made to sit in all policy matters of NHA, courtesy batch mates favoring their course mates at the cost of NHA which is deliberately being made to sink for earning cheap popularity and sympathies of a few.
A sum of Rs120 billion approximate has allegedly been stolen from NHA accounts but no apparent action has been taken by Khurram Agha which speaks volumes of pre-planned theft executed by the batch mates with the help of their course mates on the other side.
Naseer Ahmad Rana of PAS after he was appointed as member admin managed to recruit most one third of his villagers from Dandaywaal, Faislabad in NHA regular service, bypassing the laid down appointment Rules, through back door, without any advertisement or written exam which was mandatory under the recruitment policy.
UsmanAkhtarBajwa during his tenure of appointment managed to build a huge mansion in sector G-11. While everyone was busy in making presentations, Kpi’s upon his directives, the later was busy in striking a deal with ISO to extort public fund. Completely failed officer ruined the administrative hierarchy of NHA. He made billion of rupees in the name of arbitration through engagement of lawyers through questionable deals.
Ajaz Ahmed of PAS during his posting in NHA made billions while handling land acquisition affairs. While auctioning official vehicles he managed to flew with official Toyota land cruiser with the support of a corrupt subordinate. Idrees a workshop owner who paid for the said jeep in auction neither got the jeep nor his money back from Ajaz Ahmed.
Ali SherMahsud another PAS during his tenure of appointment in NHA made billion of rupees through questionable deals. He distributed NHA assets amongst his family and friends, most of which are still under their possession and have not been returned to NHA, as yet. Reference against contract awarded to M/s Petrosin on M-1 service area is enough to understand the purpose for which Mahsud came to NHA.
Mushtaq Ahmad, PAS officer is known to have made good money, specifically during COVID-19. The later flew with Chinese aid given to NHA, in form of vaccines, masks and kits which was allegedly sold by him in open market and some gifted to his friends and family for public relations at the cost of NHA.
Nazar Muhammad Bozdar of PAS turned out to be a big failure. The only achievement of this morally corrupt officer was his bullfight with a lady officer of NHA whom he managed to dismiss from service because of not complying to his intimate desires. He deserves to be hanged upside down in front of NHA head office.
Zahir Shah of PAS has been making money through posting, transfers and tempering the policies of motorways and link roads and has made a good fortune through personal deals with developers of eighteen and smart city. He is allegedly involved in tampering RoW contracts for which NHA will have to bear an irreparable loss in times ahead.
On 19th of January 2023, departmental promotion committee (DPC) BPS-20 to 21 and BPS-19 to 20 has been scheduled by the present corrupt management. Highly corrupt and ill-reputed officers who have committed millions of rupees bribe with Zahir Shah, Barkat, MaulviIbrar, Maulvi Tariq, Mubashar and Zeeshan are being placed in the recommended list whereas all officers on merit are being ignored and forced to stay away. None of the officer being recommended for promotion was appointed through selection process on merit, the report maintained, making the entire process doubtful.
Questionable placement of officers on senior most portfolios for example: Tayyab BPS-19 junior officer of paas is being made to officiate as member finance over Allah Dad Khan, senior most regular, move over BPS-21 officer, similarly Zahir Shah even upon his promotion to BPS-21 hasn’t left NHA, as yet, for actualizatizing his promotion to next grade by killing the promotional rights of Rafique and Sajjad Ahmad, senior most regular officers of NHA, only because they are disliked by Khurram Agha and his team. AbidRiazSindhu a law knowing senior most officer of the authority has been sidelined by posting him at Karachi, Whereas Shakil Anwar of Inland revenue who has already spent more than six years on deputation to NHA has been posted as GM Establishment, NHA, devoid of ESTA Code by ignoring all regular officers, similarly appointment of over thirty deputationist’s on lucrative posts by ignoring qualified officers of NHA has earned more hatred for PAS officers and their insensible decisions, the report added.
It has been further alleged that due to non familiarization of Khurram Agha and his team with engineering, technical matters, NHA was made to suffer a loss of more than 857 million only in financial year 21-22 due to faulty CSR. Reportedly contracts were awarded 800 percent higher than the actual market rates, resulting in heavy financial losses to NHA.
Petty matters requiring approval of a few million of rupees were placed for approval of the national highway council but above referred mega theft of billion of rupees and revenue sharing with external entities, in blatant violation of NHA Act 1991 has never been shared with NHC because of ongoing corruption by Khurram Agha and his selected team. All the above issues must be referred to NAB for formal investigation against the team of allegedly corrupt officers.
Role of Prime Minister as the President of the highway council must be restored to undo all ill-legal actions executed in past eight years at NHA, report stressed.
PM has been urged that deployment of all PAS, PAAS and officers from irrelevant entities to NHA must be revoked and withdrawn immediately, whereas a team of competent and professional engineers must be placed for the revival of NHA, report concluded.
