ISLAMABAD - As the mis-governance and nepotism ruling the roost in PPP-led federal government, another case of illegal promotions on executive slots in National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has surfaced that has raised serious questions on the performance of the authority. Informed circles told TheNation that making mockery of NEPRA Service Rules (NSR), former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, following his previous track record of benefiting personal friends regarding promotions no matter if there was any violation of regulations and even merit as well, in a desperate bid to appoint his own ‘Multani friend’ Anwar Malik as his personal staff officer had benefited him with two-steps illegal promotions from BPS 18 to 20. Consequently, Anwar Malik had worked with former Premier Gilani for ten months as a personal staff officer. However, Anwar Malik in a bid to save his own skin in an illegal two-step promotion in one go case had also benefited the Registrar NEPRA Syed Safeer Hussain though the Registrar had never applied nor made any attempt to get this kind of promotion.Former Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani who had earned fame to give benefit to personal friends as honourable Supreme Court (SC) in a case of appointment of Adnan Khwaja as Managing Director Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) had declared it null and void and advised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to take necessary action in this regard. But the documents made available with this scribe have revealed that former Premier had remained committed in benefiting and facilitating personal friends by appointing them on lucrative slots till June 2011 despite honourable SC took serious action. According to documents, after finding a letter from the secretariat of former Premier, NEPRA’s Member Tariff Zafar Ali Khan wrote a confidential letter against his powers for the Authority. In the letter, the Member while giving reference of the received letter of former Premier’s secretariat had started attempts for the two-step promotion/ move over of Anwar Malik. Further, owing to the absence/leave of Chairman NEPRA Khalid Saeed, Voice Chairman Shaukat Ali Kundi looked after this matter and showed written differences over the promotion of Anwar Malik in the beginning. But, over the insistence of Member Sindh Maqbool Khwaja and Member Punjab Zafar Ali Khan coupled with the persistent efforts of former Premier’s secretariat, Shaukat Ali Kundi was made convinced in this very regard. Available documents have also disclosed that Anwar Malik had worked in Prime Minister Secretariat as Joint Secretary on deputation basis in 2010. Anwar Malik was assigned to look after the projects of South Punjab, promotions of officers and appointments of Gilani’s blued-eyed on various slots in different departments. Malik had worked in NEPRA Professional Grade-4 (NPG) as Director Coordination. Further, in accordance with a copy of NEPRA Service Rules, an employee having NPG-4(B) shall be promoted to NPG-4(A) if he/she had spent four years on the said slot. Similarly, an employee after working as NPG-4(A) for three years along with good performance track record shall be promoted to NEPRA Executive Grade-1(B)(NEG).It is also learnt from the documents that three Members of NEPRA including Member Punjab Zafar Ali Khan, Member Sindh Maqbool Khwaja and Member NEPRA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shaukat Ali Kundi had circulated the working paper and illegally promoted Anwar Malik from NPG-4 to NEG-1 while sitting in their respective offices and further without getting the approval from NEPRA Authority regarding the promotion of Anwar Malik. Consequently, Malik had taken a jump from the federal government pay scale 19 to 21 and worked with former Premier Gilani for ten months as personal staff officer.Furthermore, though Registrar NEPRA Syed Safeer Hussain was working as Deputy Director NEPRA in NPG-3(B)yet Anwar Malik put up the case of promotion of Syed Safeer Hussain along with own case in front of the Members of NEPRA. The case of promotion of Anwar Malik was prepared by his personal friend Muhammad Tufail Memon Assistant Director Human Resources (HR) who is very famous in NEPRA for manoeuvring. In this way, three Members of NEPRA without the meeting of Authority had illegally promoted Anwar Malik along with Syed Safeer Hussain. Though Syed Safeer was to get promotion from NPG-3 (B) to NPG-3 (A) yet he had been given a move over to NPG-4 (B) resultantly Safeer Hussain promoted to grade 21 from grade 18 in a single night.It is to be noted here that Chairman NEPRA Khalid Saeed along with Member Balochistan Ghiasuddin wrote a note of differences over giving illegal promotions to both Anwar Malik and Syed Safeer Hussain through working paper while sitting in offices. Chairman NEPRA along with Member Balochistan in their dissent note had written that this matter should be placed before the NEPRA Authority meeting for approval so without getting the approval from the Authority regarding promotions was wrong while two step promotion/ move over was also against the NSR because even the word ‘ move over’ itself was not mentioned and also there was no relaxation of it in the regulations in this regards. Further, benefiting individuals by violating the rules and regulations is considered bad, against the good governance and also a bad precedent for future.“I feel that selective relaxation of the prescribed length of service, even in cases which are otherwise deserving makes a bad precedent, particularly when NSR does not have any provision for out-of-turn or two-step promotion,” Chairman Khalid Saeed said in his note.Sources further told that Anwar Malik currently working as Joint Secretary in Prime Minister Secretariat on deputation had submitted his case in Establishment Division to consider him for the permanent appointment of senior Joint Secretary in Secretaries Group in guise of Gilani’s approved merging rules/ regulations. The Establishment Division had sought No Objection Certificate (NOC) from NEPRA to elevate Anwar Malik as senior Joint Secretary on permanent basis in Secretariat Group. Besides, former chairman NEPRA Saeed ul Zafar in his tenure had given illegal move over to more than eight employees of NEPRA and promoted them all from professional grade to executive grade. But audit team had raised severe objections over this act of sheer violations.They further informed that Anwar Malik had worked in Punjab province as Tourism Officer and joined NEPRA in 1998 as Deputy Director Protocol. However, his credentials and experience certificates are not completed till today in the NEPRA.It is worth mentioning here that NEPRA was established to ensure the protection of the rights of consumers, transparency and merit in power sector. But various Members of NEPRA are all out to violate the rules and regulations of NEPRA and even no mentionable work made so far to end over billings, poor services of power sector as consumers are bearing heavy brunt of skyrocketing utility bills in the country.  When contacted with Anwar Malik to get his stance on his two step promotion, Malik said that the decision was taken by the majority so if one or two members submit their note of dissent then it does not matter.   

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