By By Shahab Ansari
THE appointment of a BPS-19 section officer of the Secretariat Group as an administrator at Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex allegedly in violation of rules has raised eyebrows.
Sources in the Federal Ministry of Culture told The News on Friday that Section Officer Pervez Ahmed was appointed as the administrator of the Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex on October 17. The posting caused resentment as the post was abolished in 2006 when the Aiwan-e-Iqbal was merged with Iqbal Academy. The decision to abolish the post was made by a meeting of the Management Committee of Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex headed by then federal culture secretary Jalil Abass.
Ironically, the post of administrator does not exist anymore and there is no budgetary allocation for this vacancy either.
A deputy secretary of the Ministry of Culture allegedly facilitated a friend by getting him appointed on the post of Administrator Aiwan-e-Iqbal. The federal culture secretary, who is also the head of the management committee, was reportedly not briefed on this appointment.
The vice-president of Iqbal Academy, Justice(r) Dr Javaid Iqbal has taken notice of the appointment and sent a strong letter to the federal culture secretary.
“I have been a part of the process of unifying the activities of Iqbal related organisations in the last 10 years and the collective wisdom of the inquiry of the chief executive’s Inspection Commission, several studies (MS Wing, Iqbal Academy, Management Consultants etc.), committees of the ministry and the academy, decisions of the governing body, Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Culture, Standing Committee of the Senate on Culture and the Analysis and legal Advice of the Law Division is to keep the Aiwan and the Academy under one administration.
Not only that, it has the sanction of two decisions of the Federal Cabinet.
The legal document materializing this policy and vision of the Government i.e. Iqbal Academy Act 2007, unfortunately, remained in the unfinished business of the previous assembly and has to be revived. With the ultimate goal of bringing the Aiwan under the legal jurisdiction of the academy, it was deemed advisable that for the interim period of the completion of the process of the Iqbal Academy Act, the Academy should supervise the Aiwan and no administrator should be appointed there.
The arrangement has continued ever since. The sudden decision to change the status quo is quite unnecessary and would lead to innumerable problems. The Aiwan, called the sick unit, is earning a huge profit ever since. I would therefore strongly urge you to ask the Establishment Division to withdraw their notification.
We should maintain the status quo until legislation of the Iqbal Academy Act reaches its culmination,” read the letter.
When contacted, Federal Culture Secretary Moeen-ul-Islam Bokhari told The News that the Federal Ministry of Culture considers the post of administrator an active one as it was never abolished.
He said only a suggestion to abolish the post was presented but this was not done as it could only be abolished through an act of the Parliament. The Assembly was dissolved after the amendment was tabled, he said. “How could the director of Iqbal Academy hold the additional post of administrator when no such post existed,” he remarked.
He said the recently-appointed administrator will help the director and free him from the burden of administrative work.
He said the newly-appointed administrator will work under the director of the Iqbal Academy since the director was a BPS-20 official while the administrator a BPS-19 one.