Action against education board officials proposed

KARACHI: Chairman Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has proposed the chief secretary Sindh to take strict action under Removal from Service Ordinance (RSO) 2000 against Chairman Akhtar Ghouri, Controller Imran Chishti and Muhammad Shaheer, In-charge of IT section, of Karachi Intermediate Board for harassing the ACE team, engaged in collecting evidences of alleged corruption in the board, and keeping in illegal confinement.

According to documentary evidences available with The News, following the recommendations of Deputy Director Anti-Corruption West Zone Faud Ghaffar Soomro, Chairman Anti-Corruption Ghulam Qadir Thaibo asked the chief secretary for strict action and immediately removing Akhtar Ghouri, Imran Chishti and Muhammad Shaheer from their official positions.

It is pertinent to mention here that Akhtar Ghouri is Secretary of Sindh Governor House and holding additional charge of Chairman of Intermediate Board Karachi for the last two years. Ghouri was appointed on this position without advertisement, interview and other required tests.

Sources in the law enforcing agencies engaged in Karachi targeted operation informed The News exclusively that a premier intelligence agency received credible information that money being collected by illegal means and corruption by corrupt elements of Karachi Intermediate Board is being used for terrorist activities in the metropolitan andmajority of this amount is also sent to London secretariat of a political party. This information was shared with Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah by a high-level officer of Sindh Rangers. The chief minister assured action against this nexus of officers of education board and terrorists and terror financing and then the task was given to Sindh ACE.

According to the contents of the official letter of the chairman ACE, “On August 13, 2016 a team of anti-corruption headed by Inspector Jameel Soomro of West Zone raided Karachi Intermediate Board and started collecting evidence of corruption. Suddenly Akhtar Ghouri, Chairman of the Board, Imran Chishti, Controller, with the staff of the Board entered forcibly in the room where investigation and evidence collecting was being undertaken. Both of them started misbehaving with Investigation Officer Soomro and other staff of ACE team and tried to restrict the team from performing of their duties.”

The letter further added that IO Soomro managed to leave the place in order to safeguard the police papers and case file. It said staff of the Board in the supervision of Ghouri and Chishti forcibly shut down the entrance and exit doors of the Board and closed the grill doors and locked up the ACE team.

Latter, the ACE team was released after the intervention of police and Rangers. The official letter further highlighted that role of Controller Chishti and Muhammad Shaheer, who were abettors and were very obstructive and non-cooperative, deliberately shut the main IT server which effected the operation of collection of evidence.

Official correspondence by terming the style of work of the board officers and staff as mafia style, further added that IT Department of Intermediate Board Karachi was being run as a racket and data entry operators and staff only obeyed the orders of Controller Imran Chishti and their entire conduct was threatening to the ACE team. It said the details of the entire IT staff and daily wedges employees should be checked with intelligence agencies.

Chairman Thaibo concluded his report by recommending to the chief secretary to take strict action against Akhtar Ghouri, Imran Chishti and Muhammad Shaheer and immediately remove them from their official position.

This reporter contacted Controller Imran Chishti for his official point of view but after listening to the quarries, he was annoyed and threatened this reporter of consequences in case of publication of the story. When this reporter again repeated his question, Chishti used abusive langue and repeated his threatening attitude.