Alleged interference: Orphanage in Abbottabad facing uncertain situation

ABBOTTABAD: The fate of the 84-year-old orphanage in the city hangs in the balance due to the alleged interference by the local administration.

The administration has not only suspended the governing body of the facility allegedly unlawfully but also failed to manage the required funds for utilities as well as for daily food supplies for the facility.

The orphanage under the banner of Idara Tadreesul Quran has operated with the support of philanthropists and the local community. It provided services to the destitute since pre-partition days but the latest step by the local administration created uncertainty and shaken the donors’ confidence.

The newly appointed administrator has been unable to manage the institution, and essential services have been disrupted, with failure to pay the salaries to orphanage staff. There are no resources for arranging food supplies for the orphan students whose number stands at 50.

The existing food stock is shrinking day by day and according to the administration, the food stock is enough for just two to three days. Utility bills have gone unpaid for the first time. The controversy erupted on October 19, last month, when a group of lawyers claiming to be the office-bearers of the High Court Bar Association Abbottabad visited the orphanage and later released a video on social media about the facility, alleging maladministration and irregularities.

The local administration dispatched different teams including the Child Protection Unit and District Health Officer, followed by the assistant commissioner as well as the Social Welfare Department team but they failed to prove any charge.

Later, deputy director (Admn) of Social Welfare KP on the 25th of October, on the recommendations of the District Officer of the Social Welfare Department Abbottabad suspended the executive body of the orphanage on the charges of “not following the rules and guidelines in the election of the executive body “ and appointed additional deputy commissioner as administrator.

The orphanage immediately called a meeting of the executive body and expressed concern over the decision.Orphanage Chairman Sajid Awan in his complaint to FIA Cyber Crimes Abbottabad along with the said video requested an investigation and sought action against those involved in harassment.

He lodged two separate complaints with the chairman, Pakistan Bar Council, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, Peshawar against the lawyers accusing them of professional misconduct.

In a letter to the secretary for Social Welfare, KP, former chairman of the orphanage stated that the institution had been governed under the by-laws approved by its regulatory authority since its inception, maintaining a record of strict compliance with all relevant regulations.

He said the order issued under Section 9(1) & (2) of the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance, 1961, appears to be in contradiction with the procedural standards established by the authority itself. Sajid Awan stated that the assertion of “irregularity in respect of its funds” and “maladministration in the conduct of its affairs” lacked evidentiary support.