Disgruntled Ahad Cheema’s resignation

ISLAMABAD: Ahad Khan Cheema, in his resignation letter, has expressed utter disappointment over the government of Pakistan for its blatant silence over NAB's 'politically motivated vilification campaign against him.'

The civil servant grieved that his employer (the government) instead of providing him with legal representation or support against allegations in discharge of official work preferred to be totally detached and rather proceeded to suspend him from service to make things worse.

“I cannot seek or accept a job in a system which suddenly and conveniently starts thinking that I am dishonest, persecutes and prosecutes me to no end and which fails to give me due protection guaranteed under law. This state of affairs strikes at the core values I hold and personal dignity and honesty of purpose are not the last of them. Therefore, I do hereby resign and seek retirement from service”, Ahad Cheema stated in his resignation letter available to this scribe.

In his resignation letter, Cheema wrote: "My employer, Government of Pakistan, became a silent spectator during this period, in utter disregard of Section 23A and 23B of Civil Service Act 1973. The Government, or anyone in this Division, never did consider the facts that all PERs earned by me over the last ten years were rated 'Outstanding' with unambiguous mention of impeccable integrity throughout the service; that I had topped all training courses I attended; that I was decorated with Tamgha-i-lmtiaz in the field of public service; or that I had saved more than 150 billion rupees in major projects executed under my watch.

"I am yet to come to terms with the fact that when an allegation was levelled against me in discharge of official work, my employer, instead of providing me with legal representation or any other support, preferred to be totally detached and rather proceeded to suspend me from service to make things worse. It was then that the hard reality dawned upon me that all the benefits of my service to my employer were for it to take, while all the risks were mine.”