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Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
LHC explains how a govt servant absent from duty can be sacked
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has held that a government servant who remains absent from his duty for less than one year cannot be removed from service without cogent reasons. The court said Section 4 of Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act (PEEDA) manifests that where absence from duty is for more than one year and same is proved, the authority has no option but to impose penalty of compulsory retirement or removal or dismissal from service. However, where absence from duty is less than one year, the authority under Section 4 of PEECA has discretion to impose penalty of compulsory retirement or removal or dismissal from service supported by cogent justification, in accordance with principles of proportionality, structured discretion and administrative fairness, the court added. The court passed this order on a petition of a government employee, Abusar Ghaffary, who was working as computer operator with the Punjab Emergency Services Department. The court allowed the petition and reinstating the petitioner into service and set aside impugned order and observed that no reasons are recorded to impose major penalty of removal from service against the petitioner. The court; however, held that the petitioner will not be entitled for back benefits as per the law. The petitioner's counsel submitted that under Section 7 (f) (ii) of PEEDA, where charge of absence of duty is less than one year, major penalty including removal or dismissal from service cannot be imposed. Admittedly, the regular inquiry against the petitioner was dispensed with under Section 5 (1) of the PEEDA and petitioner was removed from service under Section 4 (1) (b) (v) of PEEDA for being absent from duty for 63 days, the court observed. Where the regular inquiry is dispensed with, the procedure prescribed under section 7 of PEEDA is to be followed, the court added. The court also observed that the respondent keeping in view the principles of proportionality has not exercised discretion in structured manner. No doubt, in the impugned order, the petitioner's previous service record and penalties have been referred to; however, the said record was neither confronted to the petitioner nor petitioner was charge sheeted in show-cause notice on account of poor previous service record, the court added. The court said, when petitioner was already penalised previously, his current removal from service order on the basis of said previous penalties will amount to double jeopardy. The court; however, observed that the petitioner's reinstatement shall be subject to a fresh determination by the competent authority regarding the imposing of penalty against the petitioner, which must commensurate with the gravity of misconduct and after giving cogent reasons. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Quality assurance panels to monitor projects
WASA workers pump out rainwater accumulated at Committee Chowk in Rawalpindi. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE The Punjab Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department has established Quality Assurance Committees in all key subordinate agencies and development authorities across the province. Official sources confirmed that these committees will operate within Water and Sanitation Agencies (WASAs), Parks and Horticulture Authorities, and Development Authorities. Their primary mandate is to monitor project execution, verify adherence to technical standards, and provide consistent feedback to improve ongoing and future development schemes. Each committee will include departmental engineers, quality control officers, and administrative staff to ensure a comprehensive review of project implementation. Reports from these committees will be regularly submitted to the Housing Department's central monitoring cell for oversight and any required corrective actions. This quality control initiative follows the earlier creation of a high-level Search Committee tasked with ensuring merit-based recruitment of top positions, such as Directors General, Managing Directors, and Chief Engineers. Chaired by Housing Minister Bilal Yasin, the committee evaluates service records and seniority to ensure that appointments reflect capability and integrity. Additionally, the department has established an Internal Accountability Board, operating under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act. This board will investigate complaints of corruption and misconduct within the department and its subsidiaries, enforces internal discipline, audits compliance, and advises on policy reforms. Commenting on the department's multi-layered reforms, Housing Secretary Noorul Amin Mengal said: "The Quality Assurance Committees are another critical step toward institutionalising excellence in public service. When combined with the Search Committee and Internal Accountability Board, we are creating a governance model rooted in merit, integrity, and public trust." He stressed the importance of responsible use of public funds, noting that billions of rupees are invested annually in housing and sanitation projects.
Express Tribune
19-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Tax shortfall prompts excise to step up recovery
At high tax rates, profit margins for sellers decrease, leaving them with options to pass on the burden to consumers, compromise on the quality of products, evade taxes or find cheaper illicit goods. photo: file The Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department has intensified its commercial and domestic property tax recovery campaign in the Rawalpindi zone following a 55 per cent shortfall in property, professional, and luxury tax collections. In a move to accelerate collections, the secretary of excise and taxation has imposed an immediate ban on transfers and leave for excise inspectors and field staff until June 30. Property tax offices will also remain open on weekends throughout the month of June. The director general of excise and taxation has issued strict directives to ensure all tax targets are met by the end of June. Property tax collections in Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, and Jhelum districts are reportedly 5054 per cent below targets, while the newly designated tourist district of Murree, known as Malika Kohsar, has recorded a shortfall of up to 60 per cent. In response, the department has launched a large-scale operation, sealing 126 defaulting property units and recovering a total of Rs2.89 million in outstanding taxes. Seven excise and taxation officers in the Rawalpindi Zone have been served show-cause notices under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act for failing to meet recovery targets and may face dismissal.
Express Tribune
19-05-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Nishtar officials to face action over HIV case
A joint inquiry committee has submitted its findings to the chief minister of Punjab following an investigation into the infection of 31 dialysis patients with HIV at Nishtar Hospital. The inquiry has recommended disciplinary action against several officials, including the removal of Vice Chancellor of Nishtar Medical University, Dr Mehnaz Khakwani, for administrative negligence. The recommendations, made under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEDA) Act, follow directives from Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. The case came to light in October 2024 when over 20 dialysis patients were initially found to be HIV positive. That number later rose to 31 over four months after further screenings. Following the outbreak, the provincial government suspended key medical staff including Dr Ghulam Abbas, former Head of Nephrology; Dr Muhammad Kazim, former Medical Superintendent (MS) of Nishtar Hospital; and faculty members Dr Poonam Khalid and Dr Maleeha Johar. Head Nurse Naheed Parveen and Dr Alamgir Malik were also suspended, while a formal PEDA inquiry was initiated in December 2024. As per the inquiry report, Vice Chancellor Dr Khakwani failed to implement and monitor standard operating procedures (SOPs) across the hospital, and did not take timely action after the incident surfaced. As a result, the committee has recommended her removal and one-year suspension from public service. Former Head of Nephrology Dr Ghulam Abbas has been accused of withholding information about HIV-positive cases and failing to issue necessary written directives. The committee has recommended his compulsory retirement. Dr Poonam Khalid, Associate Professor of Nephrology, is alleged to have been frequently absent and negligent in ward management. A three-year demotion and a fine equal to one month's basic salary have been recommended in her case. The committee found that Dr Muhammad Kazim, the former MS, failed to promptly address the outbreak and was appointed without proper process as an 18-grade officer in a 20-grade position. The committee has recommended censure and withholding of his annual increment for one year. Meanwhile, Dr. Maleeha Johar, Dr. Alamgir Malik, and Head Nurse Naheed Parveen were acquitted of charges. Separately, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Multan has raised concerns about the integrity of the inquiry. In an emergency meeting chaired by Dr Masoodur Rauf Haraj, the PMA alleged that the inquiry failed to determine how the virus was transmitted and focused instead on penalizing Nishtar Medical University's first female Vice Chancellor. The PMA claimed that the inquiry report may have been influenced by a senior university officer with alleged aspirations to become the next vice chancellor. According to the association, this officer reportedly had connections with the inquiry convener and predicted the report's contents in advance. The PMA also pointed out that no genetic sequencing has been conducted to confirm whether HIV transmission occurred through dialysis procedures, and questioned the absence of action against unauthorised medical practitioners.
Express Tribune
30-03-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
Absentee professors to face music
The college education sector across Punjab has been affected by the absence of professors from their duties, prompting the provincial higher education department to take action against them. According to sources in the sector, the students are facing difficulties in completing their courses because of the absence of professors of computer, science and language subjects. The sources said that around 40 assistant professors in various districts had remained absent from their duties for the past year and the Punjab Higher Education Department had appeared helpless to address the problem. They said the department was set to start taking action against the professors remaining absent from their duties. The problem is more severe in the districts where students rely completely on the college teachers for their education. The issue of teachers remaining absent from their duties is especially serious in South Punjab and remote districts where professors of science, mathematics and computer science fail to take classes. The students of science subjects, including those of BS, are the worst affected. The sources in the higher education department said information about around 40 such assistant professors from various districts had come to the knowledge of the authorities and departmental action would soon be initiated against them. "These 40 assistant professors have been absent from their duties for the past many months. They also include female professors. We sent them a final warning to join their duties," said a senior official of the Punjab Higher Education Department. The official said complaints against such teachers had also been received from students and their parents. The department will protect the interest of the students by taking action under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act (PEEDA), the official said. He said the department would also take action against the principals of the colleges in which the professors habitually skipped classes. However, an office-bearer of a college professors' union said the majority of the teachers had been absent from duties because of their transfer to remote districts after their promotion as assistant professors. He said most of the teachers found absent were those who had been promoted about six months ago and later transferred to other, remote districts. "How can a woman or a senior professor in old age and in the presence of their families afford to go to a district 300km away? It is mismanagement on the part of the higher education department that it transferred professors to remote districts, because of which they are not willing to join their new duties and the students suffer because the teaches are not available in classes," said a female professor. A former president of the Punjab Professors and College Lecturers Association, Dr Tariq Kaleem, said, "It is the right of the professors to be promoted, but it is not fair to transfer them to faraway districts." He said there was a need for the department to implement a formula for the promotion of college teachers under which the posts of the promoted teachers were upgraded in the colleges in which they were currently serving.
