After secret flights, officials face fall from grace

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has launched probe against employees of various departments who have travelled abroad while concealing their identity in passports, a source told The News on Monday.
The source added that the Excise and Taxation Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took the lead by identifying 147 officials who travelled abroad while concealing their identity. These officials did not mention their official status in their passports, primarily to avoid getting the NOCs by their respective departments.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Passport Department provided the details of the passports as well as foreign trips made by these persons after being requested by the inquiry committee that launched the investigation last year, the source disclosed.
The source added that the list along with recommendations has been sent to the chief secretary through the Secretary Excise and Taxation to carry out the exercise in all the government departments to identify those frequently visiting various countries.
“Under the Passport Act 1974, one can be imprisoned for three years and fined for concealing facts in the passport,” the source pointed out.
The source said that under the rules, a government official was required to provide NOC from his or her department to the immigration authorities at the airport. The officials had mentioned their profession in their passport as businessmen, students, private employees, unemployed or others instead of government employees, the source added.
The list of 147 officials of the Excise and Taxation Department included a grade-18 deputy director who had concealed his identity in the passport along with 11 assistant directors as well as excise and taxation officers in grade-17, six assistant excise and taxation officers in grade-16, 48 inspectors, five stenographers and two data processors in grade-14, 29 computer operators in grade-12, two sub-inspectors in grade-9 and 43 assistant sub-inspectors in grade-7.
“An inquiry has been conducted and officials whose passports didn’t mention them as government officials have been identified. We will take whatever action is directed by the bosses at the Civil Secretariat under the relevant law,” confirmed Excise and Taxation Department Director General Javed Khan Marwat when contacted by The News. He added that the probe had been completed.
The probe report has been sent to the provincial government with the recommendation that a similar inquiry should be conducted in all the government departments, particularly those having more chances to earn money through unfair means, and identify those frequently visiting abroad after making illegitimate assets.
The inquiry started last year after the top bosses were asked to look into the violation of the Passport Act by hundreds of government employees.
“We have recommended to the government that the same exercise should be carried out in all the departments to find out those going overseas frequently. There would be hundreds (if not thousands) of officials who have concealed their identities in their passports to save themselves of the trouble to seek NOCs from their concerned departments while travelling abroad,” Additional Secretary Excise and Taxation Inamullah Gandapur, who conducted the probe, told The News. The official said the exercise was conducted with the support of the officials of the Passport Department and FIA.
There were reports that many of those earning huge amount of money used to travel abroad regularly and there was no system to keep a check on them since they had not shown in their passports their official status.
“The FIA should be asked to take stern action against all those in the government departments who have violated Section 6 of the Passport Act 1974. Immigration and passport authorities may be asked to cancel their passports,” recommended the inquiry committee. It added that if the exercise proved successful, the chief secretary of the provincial government should be requested to extend it to all the departments.