Lt Gen Hamid argues amendments made DG redundant
PESHAWAR: Expressing serious concern over the recent amendments in the laws of the top provincial accountability body, Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Hamid Khan submitted his resignation as director general Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) on Wednesday.
Hamid Khan, a former corps commander of Peshawar, submitted his resignation to Governor Mahtab Ahmad Khan, who too resigned a couple of days ago but will continue in his job till the appointment of a new governor.
Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Khan wrote to Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak on February 4, opposing the proposed amendments in the Ehtesab Commission Act 2014 to preserve the credibility of the accountability process. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government, however, decided to go for the amendments. It was at this stage that the DG Ehtesab Commission hinted at quitting the office.
A number of political leaders, both in the ruling and opposition parties, were not happy with the procedure of the KPEC after it swung into action against some powerful politicians and hinted at laying hands on many others. Those nabbed by the KPEC during the last over one year included a sitting KP minister, serving secretaries and other senior officials, and a few ex-ministers and officials.
“The Ehtesab Commission was established under KPEC Act 2014. The undersigned was approached by the search and scrutiny committee, appointed as per the Act, with the request to accept the appointment as director general. After a lot of deliberation, their request was accepted and I was appointed as DG on October 20, 2014,” Lt Gen (retd) Hamid stated in his three-page resignation letter to the governor.
He stated that since taking charge of the office of the DG, the Ehtesab Commission conducted 90 inquiries and 43 investigations and followed up by filing 13 references. Hamid Khan stated that for the first time in the history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, powerful ministers and senior bureaucrats were arrested on charges of corruption. He said their cases are being processed in the relevant courts of law.
“Having started the progress, I would like to apprise of the frustrations; firstly let me reiterate that the undersigned agreed to join the commission not for the sake of emoluments but to help transform the society. Now talking about the frustration, firstly, there is a serious difference between the undersigned and the commissioners on the interpretation of the Act. This has resulted in persistent interference in the operational matters which is against the Act and this issue cannot be resolved because of the non-existence of any mechanism for the purpose,” the resignation letter revealed.
Secondly, the Anti Corruption Establishment, according to the Act, was to become a part of the commission but was later changed, stated the letter.“Thirdly, it is the issue of the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau which, after 18th Amendment, should restrict its activities to federal agencies only. However, the government is not taking notice of the undersigned assertion, resulting in a regular dispute between the two agencies which, if anything, is benefitting the accused,” Hamid Khan explained in his letter.
The latest issue that finally forced the head of the Ehtesab Commission to quit proved to be the amendments in the Act.“Fourthly, the government has issued amendments in the Act, resulting in dilution of powers of the DG; in fact these amendments in the Act have made the post of the director general redundant, made the accountability process and the autonomy of the commission controversial and thereby questionable,” said the outgoing head of the KPEC.
The DG said that because of the four points mentioned in the resignation, he could not continue to head the body.Hamid Khan also served as president of the National Defence University, Islamabad, and is the son of late educationist and University of Peshawar’s Vice-Chancellor Hashim Khan.
Meanwhile, a number of young workers of the PTI are not happy with the recent developments, arguing that the Ehtesab Commission and reforms in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police were the two main achievements of the KP government in the last two and a half years, mostly because of appointing the right persons as the heads. The KPEC was popular with the PTI’s youth for going after the corrupt.
On the other hand, a press release of the Ehtesab Commission issued by the personal secretary of the chief Ehtesab commissioner on February 9 welcomed the amendments in the Ehtesab Act 2014.
“It was generally felt that the proposed amendments augur well for the institution as a whole and aim at enhancing its transparency and performance besides removing the anomalies in the existing law,” stated the press release. It added that the KPEC welcomed the proposed changes approved by the provincial cabinet and considered them appropriate and suitable.