LAHORE- In the unfolding the Bank of Punjab (BoP) scam, now the former Chief Secretary Punjab Salman Siddique is also being included among those to be interrogated in connection with Rs 13 billion fraud while at least 40 bigwigs of the bank have also been sacked, sources disclosed to The Nation on Wednesday. The govt has fired 40 senior officers of the Bank of Punjab including its President, Executive Presidents, Vice Presidents, Assistant Vice Presidents, Officers of Grade- (I, II, III) and Officers on contract. The sources revealed that the bank has suffered a loss of Rs 5.38 billion since the bank scandal surfaced as the leading businessmen and industrialists are withdrawing their investments from the bank. 'The shares of the BoP also declined to 15 per cent in the stock-exchange after the scandal of embezzlement and irregularities was unearthed and the govt agencies initiated high-level inquiries against its top management', the sources maintained. The sources said that former Finance Secretary-cum-Chief Secretary Punjab Salman Siddique was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BoP and the irregularities taken place could not have been committed without his abetment. 'The loans cannot be sanctioned without the approval of Chairman, especially the ones given to Haris Steel Mills and Haider Steel Mills', alleged a senior official. 'These irregularities have been committed by a network as Hamesh Khan cannot commit all the irregularities alone being the President', he said. He further disclosed that all the important characters in this scandal including the former Chief Secretary Punjab would also be interrogated in connection with the fraud cases. The sources said that the govt has sacked at least 40 big guns in the Bank of Punjab besides its President Hamesh Khan. According to the sources, the management of the Bank of Punjab has been directed to immediately cancel the specimen signature of these 40 Executives and Officers appearing in the Authorized Signature Booklet (June 2003) held with them so as to safeguard the interest of the bank. 'The following Executives / Officers have ceased to be on the strength of the bank due to the reason as mentioned in remarks column against each', said the information circular issued by the Human Resource Division, Head Office of the Bank of Punjab. 1. Hamesh Khan (Ex-President), 2. Anis Iqbal (Executive Vice President), 3. Shahzad Gulzar (Executive Officer on contract), 4. Sarfraz Ahmed Ch. (Executive Officer on Contract), 5. Imran Sana (Vice President), 6. Qamar Saeed Qureshi (Vice President), 7. Babar Saeed Khan (Vice President), 8. Hassan Farooq (Assistant Vice President), 9. Samina Attir (Assistant Vice President), 10. Muhammad Mutahir Abbass (Assistant Vice President), 11. Syed Mubashar Hassan (Assistant Vice President), 12. Imran Ahmad (Assistant Vice President), 13. Saima Rashid (Assistant Vice President), 14. Muhammad Asif Razzaq (Officer Grade-I), 15. Syed Izhar ul Hassan (Officer Grade-I), 16. Muhammad Iqbal (Officer Grade-I), 17. Zulfiqar Ali (Officer Grade-I), 18. Asim Ejaz(Officer Grade-I), 19. Imtinan Ul Haq (Officer Grade-I), 20. Muhammad Jamil Jajja (Officer Grade-I), 21. Aftab Ahmad (Officer Grade-I), 22. Muhammad Saleem Bhatti (Officer Grade-I), 23. Syed Ejazul Hassan Kazmi (Officer Grade-I), 24. Sultan Mehmood (Officer Grade-I), 25. Zulqarnain Ali (Officer Grade-II), 26. Aamir Sohail (Officer Grade-II), 27. Sadiq Hussain (Officer Grade-II), 28. Syed Afzal Haider (Officer Grade-II), 29. S. Saeed ul Hassan Gillani (Officer Grade-II), 30. Muhammad Masood Ahmad (Officer Grade-II), 31. Sadiq Hussain (Officer Grade-II), 32. Rana Muhammad Tahir (Officer Grade-III), 33. Muhammad Asif (Officer Grade-III), 34. Ghafira Ghazal (Officer Grade-III), 35. Raza Hussain (Officer Grade-III), 36. Asif Kamal(Officer Grade-III), 37. Syeda San Eela Asghar (Officer Grade-III), 38 Shahid Ismail Khan (Officer Grade-III), 39 Muhammad Ikram (Officer Grade-III), and 40 Rizva Farooq (Officer on Contract). However, the Bank of Punjab officials said that all the above-mentioned Executives and officers, except the President Hamesh Khan, were not sacked. 'Actually they themselves had resigned willingly as they wanted to join other banks on top and good positions. The bank has not terminated the services of anybody', a senior officer of the Punjab Bank told this reporter requesting his name not to be mentioned. 'All the stakeholders, account holders and employees of the bank are safe and there is no ambiguity in it', he added. He further said that all the bank employees are the assets of the bank. It is important to mention here that the Bank of Punjab's top management had sanctioned loans worth over Rs 13 billion to Haris Steel Mills, Haider Steel Mills and other individuals and companies without fulfilling the legal requirements. These loans were sanctioned on suspicious documents and guarantees. The State Bank of Pakistan and Punjab govt unearthed this scam and sacked the top management of the BoP and initiated inquiry against them.