Rule of law: Transferred away, but keeping cars, personal staff

An officer transferred away from the Punjab is not allowed to retain official staff or cars…for even a week after his transfer, a senior Punjab government official said.

Umar Rasul, a Pakistan Administrative Service officer in BS-20, was serving as provincial ombudsman’s secretary when he was transferred to the federal government in the second week of September, 2013.

Rules require that the departing officer hand over all office vehicles in his use and officials attached with him to ombudsman’s office but he has retained five people, including three drivers Muhammad Nisar, Rafique Ahmed and Nasir Mehmood, and three staff cars. He has also kept Jamal Din, a cook at his house, and Jamal Jabbar, a gofer and protocol man, and a motorcycle.

Rasul was entitled to one staff car and a driver as secretary of the office, but used three official cars and a motorcycle.

When he was transferred to the federal government, he was required to surrender all the cars as well as the staff. However, he did not and continues to receive POL (petrol, oil and lubricants) on the ombudsman’s office account.

An official of the Ombudsman’s office said the federal government had introduced a monetising policy and no longer provided staff cars.

Ombudsman’s office Public Relations Director Abid Noor Bhatti said that he was not aware of the matter and the office administration declined comment.

The Express Tribune tried to contact Rasul repeatedly for his view on this but he did not respond.

Jamal Din, one of the employees retained by Rasul, said that he was not aware where Rasul was posted. “I work at his residence,” he said.

Nadeem Hassan Gohar, an admin officer at the ombudsman’s office, said Rasul had surrendered “some of the cars in his use”. He did not give details about the cars and acknowledged that some of the staff were still working at his house.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2014.