NAB questions Sindh govt on dismissal of NICVD doctor

KARACHI: In an unprecedented move, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has inquired from the Sindh government about the termination of services of an employee of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), which is an autonomous body working under the administrative control of the Sindh government.

In a letter from the NAB Karachi to secretary health, a copy of which is available with The News, Saeed Ahmed, Additional Director (Staff) for DG NAB Karachi, raised the question about the termination of Dr Tariq Sheikh. He has asked the NICVD management to submit documents of approval of dismissal by the competent authority, its reasons along with the showcause notice and all other relevant papers. On October 29, a team of NAB conducted an hours-long ‘raid’ at the NICVD on the charges of financial and administrative irregularities, misappropriation of funds and questioned the administrative staff.

Dr. Tariq Sheikh, who was once Medical Officer in the Sindh Health department and also private secretary to a Sindh minister, had joined the NICVD in 2016 as Staff Officer. According to NICVD official record due to absence from duties and after fulfilling codal formalities, servicing notices, reminders and final show-cause notice, he was terminated from the job in September 2020. The Sindh government sources informed ‘The News’ that Dr. Tariq Sheikh is said to be the close relative of a senior Police officer who has an influence over NAB Karachi. He is also a relative of NAB’s Investigation Officer in the NICVD case, Qamar Abbasi.

The NICVD management also approached the NAB chairman for an impartial investigation against the institute, complaining about Dr. Tariq Sheikh and terming his dismissal in accordance with the rules and merit through a letter.

Senior legal expert and former judge advocate Shahid Soomro told ‘The News’ that the NAB’s letter to Sindh Health department was not in accordance with the laws. “This is not the domain of NAB to inquire about the termination of any employee of Sindh government, it’s rather harassment and a move to unnecessarily favor the dismissed officer,” added advocate Soomro. He concluded that the proper forum for the terminated employee is the Service Tribunal and not the NAB.

The NAB Spokesman, Nawazish Ali Asim, told The News that none of the NAB officers have any relationship with Dr. Tariq Sheikh. Second, NAB’s role to conduct an inquiry into his termination is to analyze each and every aspect to reach out towards the factual position as per law. The NAB is always determined to perform its duties as per law. On the other hand, NAB in its official announcement on November 3, 2020, had said it has received various complaints about allegations of corruption in various appointments, excessive salaries, and several other issue and due to continuous non-cooperation of NICVD for provision of record, the NAB team visited the NICVD Karachi to receive the official record.

The COO of NICVD, Dr. Azra Maqsood, told The News that she and NICVD have always cooperated with the NAB and provided all the required documents to the Bureau, but the recent action of NAB was unnecessary and cannot be understood. Dr. Maqsood said that some of the officials of NICVD who were terminated from their jobs including Dr. Tariq Sheikh have started a malafide campaign against the institute.

Dr. Tariq Sheikh denied having any relationship with NAB officers and said he had nothing to do with the NAB raid on NICVD. He said that he was terminated when he raised the issue of corruption in the organisation.