Six Grade-21 FBR officers move IHC

Special assistant to PM denies all charges; says recommendations on merit

ISLAMABAD: A couple of promotions to BS-22 in Federal Board of Revenue have brought the deferred bureaucrats in open confrontation with the political bosses accusing them of rewarding the blue-eyed officers and penalizing those refused bowing to the pressures.

In miscellaneous petitions before Islamabad High Court, the officers have documented allegations that were only whispered before. 

They range from the accusation against a promoted officer of protecting the business interests of Haroon Akhtar Khan to the pressure exerted by him for the closure of tax evasion inquiries, the refusal of which deemed to be the reason behind deferment of the annoying officer. 

Haroon Akhtar Khan, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Revenue, however, rubbished the allegations and declared that he recommended officers only on merit without any fear or favor. 

Ch. Safdar Hussain and Dr. Muhammad Irshad, the officers promoted to BS-22, fell in the seniority list at 10th and 16th position that have generated resentment among the deferred officers including those known for impeccable integrity and professional competence. 

The affected officers who moved the court are: Haroon Tareen Khan, Raana Ahmed, Seema Majid, Muhammad Riaz, Mian Saeed Iqbal and Khawaja Tanveer Ahmed.  

Tareen who has consecutively received outstanding performance reports for the last six years, was DG Intelligence & Investigation of FBR until six months ago. His petition reveals the pressure he confronted after detecting huge tax fraud/evasion in the cases of some very influential business concerns.   

“Respondent No.4 (Haroon Akhtar Khan) called him (Haroon Akhtar Tareen) to his office and advised him to immediately close the said proceedings.

“When the Petitioner expressed his inability to do so, being absolutely illegal, he was threatened with consequences including denial of his future promotion to BS 22. Affidavit to that effect can be produced before this august court if so desired,” reads his petition.

Raana Ahmed, another affected officer who is CEO of Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL), has also leveled allegations of pressure tactics used by Haroon Akhtar Khan, saying he “calls the Chairman and Members FBR and even the CEO, PRAL to his office many times every day and unduly interferes in the routine business of the FBR and the PRAL; unduly interferes in all administrative matters such as transfers, postings, promotions and even disciplinary proceedings of FBR officers; threatens officers who hesitate to comply with his illegal verbal instructions and rewards those who silently obey. As such the Respondent No. 4 is the de-facto Chairman FBR.”

All the petitioners have also raised questions about Haroon Akhtar Khan’s appointment on incumbent position in view of a pending inquiry proceeding against him and his family with NAB “on charges of corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and malpractice” in connection with a suspicious transaction of foreign remittance of US$ 6.9 million.   

The petitioners have further alleged that the two promoted offices (Ch. Safdar Hussain and Dr. Irshad Muhammad Irshad are looking after the tax matters including audits of Haroon Akhar Khan’s family businesses. 

They have also pointed out that the promoted officers have had less experience than the petitioners in BS-21 and that the petitioners’ performance reports were far better than Safdar and Irshad. 

Safdar in a case was “held guilty of sexual harassment to a lady officer though he was exonerated by the authorized officer on compassionate ground, as he was suffering from cancer.”

The petitioners have argued quoting a Supreme Court judgment in Tariq Aziz-ud-Din case that promotion to BS-22 can take place strictly on merit and only on merit on the basis of criteria set forth for promotion. Going by the court judgment, the affected officers were more deserving promotion than those promoted.   

No doubt the appointing authority is vested with the executive authority to appoint civil servants in BS 22, this authority is to be exercised in accordance with law and the settled principles in this regard and merit is not to be judged on personal whims and wishes rather it is to be gathered from the officer’s track record, the petitioners argued. 

As The News contacted Haroon Akhtar Khan for version on the charges leveled against him by petitioners, he outrightly rejected them. I was asked by the finance minister, Haroon explained, for the names of the best of the best officers that I provided keeping in view my observation on the basis of my working with them. He said he didn’t attend the meeting considered the officers for promotion. 

Regarding undue influence he allegedly exercised over FBR officers, he denied that impression in addition to the allegation that he had pressured Haroon Tareen for closing inquiries relating tax fraud of influential businessmen.