ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue has adopted a pick and choose policy in the recent high level Pakistan Customs Service officers’ transfers and postings.
Highly placed sources have told Pakistan Today that the FBR has not transferred those powerful customs collectors who have strong connections in political or bureaucratic circles.
Generally, posting transfer has become an investment business in FBR where well-connected and rich officers not only to prevent their transfers from or to procure their postings to lucrative positions.
In the recent reshuffle in FBR, Amjad-ur-Rehman was retained as Collector Peshawar contrary to one year tenure policy followed by FBR and despite his controversial track record there as some highly influential persons had asked the high ups not to remove him from this position.
In this reshuffle, FBR has also seated several junior officers on senior slots giving the so-called own pay and scale postings.
Such junior officers posted on senior positions in OPS include Muhammad Yaqoob Mako, Ashhad Jawad, Muhammad Saleem and Mirza Mubashir Baig.
A junior BS 20 officer Muhammad Yaqoob Mako has been posted as Chief Collector Customs Karachi. Another Junior BS 20 officer Arshad Jawad has been posted as Chief Collector Customs Appraisement Karachi in OPS by removing a regular promoted senior BS 21 officer Wajid Ali from that position.
Similarly, another Junior BS-20 officer Muhammad Saleem has been posted as Chief Collector Customs Peshawar in OPS by removing a regularly promoted senior BS-21 officer Ahmad Reza Khan.
Another, Junior BS-20 officer Mirza Mubashir Baig has been posted as DG Directorate General of Input Output Coefficient Organisation, Karachi in OPS whereas a regularly promoted senior BS 21 officer Ahmad Rauf has been sidelined.
After posting the junior BS 20 officers on senior BS 21 slots in OPS, all regularly promoted senior BS-21 officers except two Abdul Qadir Memon and Imran Mohmand have been sidelined.
It is pertinent to mention here that FBR has posted the BS-21 officer Abdul Qadir Memon as Chief Collector Customs Baluchistan due to his strong political connections.
The other regularly promoted BS 21 officer Imran Mohmand has been posted as Chief Collector Islamabad and reportedly after his 15 years blacklisting owing to his alleged involvement as deputy collector in a big revenue loss scam in the PAACS Collectorate, Karachi.
A regularly promoted BS-21 officer Fareed Iqbal has been sidelined as DG, Directorate General of Post Clearance & Internal Audit, Karachi. Another regularly promoted senior BS-21 officer Muhammad Sadiq has been sidelined as DG, Directorate General of IPR (Enforcement), Islamabad.
Sources said that FBR’s frequent use of the device of OPS posting to post the easily manageable Junior officers and to curb the possible dissenting voices of the regularly promoted senior officers is a misuse of authority to promote favouritism as FBR can seat a Junior officer on a senior slot only when senior officers are not available.
Member Customs Operations, Mukarram Jah Ansari, on the query of this scribe replied that Officers posting has been made keeping in view ongoing tasks & requirements.
“Currently we have a demanding situation on the Afghan border to ensure smooth flow of Coal, Onions, Tomatoes & other cargo. As Amjad-ur-Rehman has ably handled challenging assignments at Afghan Border in the past couple of months, so he has been retained for the time being for continuity, whereas the Chief Collector KP & Add Collectors have been changed,” he added.
The consideration has been entirely on professional grounds & departmental requirements, he replied.
