KARACHI - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice President and Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh has urged Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to start his historic reforms in civil service from the province of Sindh that is teemed with corruption and bad governance.

In a letter to PM Imran Khan, he requested urgent implementation of the Civil Servants Efficiency and Discipline (E&D) Rules 2020, rotation policy and other reform in Sindh province, according to a statement issued on Friday.

He congratulated the PM  for heroic reforms through the Civil Servants Efficiency and Discipline (E&D) Rules 2020, as unveiled by Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood in a recent press conference. He said in this press conference it was announced that no officer would remain in one province for more than 10 years, no officer with plea bargain and voluntary return would be tolerated and no officer with cases and inquiries against him would be given posting. These reforms are unprecedented in Pakistan and surely help in uprooting bureaucratic lethargy, corruption and misuse of power.

Adil said though corruption in bureaucracy is a widespread phenomenon in whole country, but in Sindh this menace has already been institutionalised by the corrupt provincial rulers, who patronise the most corrupt and dishonest officers and use them as tools and pawns for their mega corruption.  

In Sindh many top officers are enjoying postings on lucrative posts for years and years and despite proven corruption and plea bargains with the NAB and voluntarily return of the looted money they are being again posted on their previous seat to continue their malpractices, he said.

Despite criminal cases and continuous posting in Sindh for more than 10 years many corrupt bureaucrats are still present in this province and sucking blood of the poor masses through their corrupt practices. Some of these officers are even posted in Sindh Chief Minister House and finance department who fall in the above mentioned categories (plea bargains, VR, posted for more than 10 years, etc).

Adil further wrote that without the support of and connivance of these criminal minded officers, PPP led Sindh government wouldn’t have been able to ruin Sindh the way they have for the last 13 years.

He said there is dire need that the Civil Servants Efficiency and Discipline (E&D) Rules 2020, rotation policy and other reforms should be urgently and strictly implemented in Sindh to muzzle the corrupt bureaucrats. “These corrupt civil servants should not be given promotions and they instead should be sent on forced retirement. So as to insure that honest and professional officers who rarely get posted to Sindh and those honest officers who are already a part of Sindh’s civil service but have been sidelined by a corrupt mafia driven system, can replace the corrupt bureaucrats currently holding most important positions.”

He said: “Details of the officers who have struck deals of plea bargain and VR should be sought from the NAB and similarly details of officers who are posted in provinces for more than 10 years be sought from the establishment division and necessary action be taken against them.”

“A list of such corrupt officers has already been submitted by the Sindh chief secretary to the Sindh High Court. There are names of 435 officers in this list, most of them belonging to Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS). We ourselves are also compiling such reports which would be sent to your good office soon.”

He said majority of the officers who have inked plea bargain and VR deals in Sindh province are the officers of the federal civil service and the PM is requested to direct the federal government to immediately take action against these federal civil servants mostly belonging to administrative and police service on urgent basis.

Adil said that as the leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly I am raising voice on the issues of masses inside and outside the assembly. Hence, I earnestly request you to replace corrupt and out-of-turn promoted officers with honest and professional civil servants so that much-awaited relief could be given to the people of this corruption-hit province.