56 public companies: Nine company heads refuse to return additional salaries

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) informed the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday that nine heads of public sector companies had refused to return the amount they received as additional salaries.

A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the heads of public sector companies receiving big amounts over and above their regular salaries.

Shahzad Saleem, the Lahore director general of the anti-graft body, submitted a report saying that of the 56 heads of companies, 45 had agreed to return the amount they received in excess to their salaries, and more than Rs320 million had been recovered. However, he informed the court, nine heads of companies had refused to return the amount.

As Safe Cities Authority Managing Director Ali Amir Malik, one of the nine officials refusing to return the amount, appeared in the court, the top judge asked him why he had been receiving Rs650,000 while he should have been given Rs150,000 to 200,000 per month salary, according to the government pay scale.

“Officers who received big salaries have looted the public funds,” the CJP said emphatically. The Safe Cities Authority Project Director Akbar Nasir Khan also appeared before the court. The court ordered them to return the amount within three months, threatening them with disciplinary action if the directives were not followed. The hearing was later adjourned for an indefinite period of time.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Friday took suo motu notice of alleged misbehaviour on the part of Gilgit-Baltistan Tourism Minister Fida Hussain with the Arrivals In-charge at the Islamabad airport, and directed both to appear before the court on Saturday (today). As per media reports, the incident took place over a flight delay due to bad weather and the Pakistan Muslim League-N minister pushed the official so hard that he stumbled.