Mystery shrouds Governor House notification

LAHORE- Nobody in the Governors House is ready to own a notification issued on Governors letterhead regarding 'appointment of one, Ishrat Saqib as Advisor to the Governor on matters of 'Trade and Business Coordination. The notification, dated June 6, 2011, a copy of which is available with The Nation, has been issued with the signatures of Senior Advisor to Punjab Governor, Zahid Bashir, who has disowned it terming it fake and an attempt to malign him. Governors spokesperson also expressed his ignorance about the controversial notification, saying it was not part of the official record. Zahid Bashir, who also served as Press Secretary to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for some time, told this scribe that the matter of Ishrat Saqibs appointment as Advisor to the Governor was under consideration for quite some time in the past, and he had also asked a typist to type the draft. But it was later decided not to appoint that person as Advisor and the draft notification was never signed by the competent authority, he added. Zahid said he had no legal authority to issue any notification on behalf of the Governor as he was serving in honorary capacity without getting any perks or privileges except a room in administration bloc of Governors House. The sources said that the contentious notification might have something to do with the squabbling currently going on among half a dozen Advisors of the Punjab Governor, some of whom might be trying to let each other down out of jealously or their vested interests. The six Advisors to Punjab Governor include: Senior Advisor, Zahid Bashir, Ch Munnawar Anjum, Tanvir Butt, Abdullah Malik, Irfan Alvi and Bushra Malik. The appointment of a seventh one, Ishrat Saqib, seems to have been blocked for the time being, but the issuance of an apparently fake notification on Governors letterhead should be a matter of grave concern for the Governor.