Lahore -  Officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service are upset after the arrest of former LDA director general Ahad Khan Cheema and they are considering a joint a strategy to counter the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Sources say although the participants sympathised with the arrested baboo, many of them had no soft corner for him. They didn’t defend Cheema, but the group.

The chief secretary, additional chief secretary, administrative secretaries and some commissioners of the Pakistan Administrative Service attended the meeting to discuss the strategy to counter the NAB.

Different officers gave their viewpoint. They agreed on some points and disagreed on some others. They passed a resolution against handling of Cheema, as his picture behind the bars went viral on the print, electronic and social media. A committee headed by the ACS Punjab was also constituted to deliberate on the issue and give recommendations.

The participants passed a resolution, expressing concerns over the NAB action. They called the action misuse of authority, sources said. “This has created a deep sense of insecurity among public servants serving in Punjab and this is detrimental to normal government functioning. The federal and Punjab governments should take appropriate measures to protect rights of the civil servants. NAB functionaries should exercise their powers in accordance with the law in a fair and transparent way,” it was stated.

Neither Punjab government spokesperson Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan nor ACS Umar Rasool was available to comment on the issue.

Officers also held side meetings before they met at the Civil Secretariat. Some officers met Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the situation later in the evening. The chief minister had called a cabinet meeting to discuss reservations of the senior bureaucrats.

An officer requesting anonymity told this reporter that majority of the officers didn’t like Ahad Cheema. He said that constitution of the committee and resolution passed at the meeting were just an eyewash. A good number of officers said they should not confront NAB. They should rather take legal action and hire good lawyers. Moreover, the officers were of the view that NAB didn’t arrest any officer without ample proof against the accused. They were of the opinion that those who minted millions out of the development projects should face the music.

After the arrest of Cheema, both provincial and federal bureaucrats serving in Punjab and involved in mega financial scams are stunned and they have stepped up efforts to escape from accountability.

A good number of officers currently serving at important positions in Punjab is involved in one scam or the other.

Official sources said that after the NAB opened Ashiana Housing Scam and other mega projects like the Metros, senior bureaucrats involved in such projects were afraid.

A senior retired officer who also served in the Anti-Corruption Establishment said that many officers were removed from different companies on charges of embezzlement but ‘nobody’ raised voice in their favour. They faced inquiries in the NAB, ACE and CMIT. The need was to devise a uniform strategy for all.

An officer said the top hierarchy had directed the senior lot of officers not to serve the required information to the anti-graft body.

A proposal to handle the NAB by amending the relevant law had also been under consideration in the bureaucracy.