The employees of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KP-EZDMC) have filed a complaint with the Human Right (HR) Cell of the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the alleged illegal appointment and abusive and racist behavior of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Saeed Ahmad.
Through the application, the two senior employees Islam Gul, Land Officer, KP-EZDMC and Imtiaz Ahmad Mohmand, Manager Construction, KP-EZDMC the complainants wanted to bring into the notice, the case of the alleged illegal appointment of the CEO. KP-EZDMC is a Section 42 company wholly owned by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The complaint submitted with the HR Cell of the Supreme Court of Pakistan states that the whole process through which Saeed Ahmad was installed as CEO speaks of fraud, nepotism, favoritism, manipulation and outright malafide intentions. It said that a bonafide selection process was hijacked, manipulated, then cancelled and re-initiated, and provisions of articles of the company were set aside illegally, just to benefit a particular individual- Saeed Ahmad, who is known to have strong backing from a senior government officer. Some senior bureaucrats tailored the selection and evaluation criteria to specifically suit Saeed, who would otherwise not have even got shortlisted. The complainants have also attacked the complete case of illegal appointment of Saeed with their joint application.
The complainants say that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has already taken cognizance of his illegal appointment, but Saeed is allegedly using all his resources to influence DG, NAB Peshawar and delay the proceedings. He has also allegedly hired a NAB employee as Manager Legal of the company on about 4 times salary just to get assistance in this regard. The complaint further states of the alleged false declaration made by the CEO upon his assumption of charge that he had left his previous employment. However, upon verification by the HR Department, the previous employer certified that Saeed was still under their employment even after two months of joining as CEO and that he was on leave. Once the lie of Saeed was caught with solid evidence, the same bureaucrat, who had installed him came to his rescue and brushed the matter under the carpet.
In this regard, the HR Department has also received numerous complaints, including written, of mistreatment and humiliating behavior from the employees. The complainants have also alleged extreme racist attitude of the CEO especially towards Punjab and did not hiding his feelings. A complaint in this regard has been officially documented in September 2018 and even BoD members have also communicated to him to watch his racist attitude. He fans parochialism and racism through his interaction with employees.
The application filed by the complainants with the HR Cell of the Supreme Court also states that Saeed has been remained a low level employee throughout his professional career. During his last employment he was 'Assistant Resident Engineer' for most of the time. Suddenly, he has been catapulted to lead the most important public sector company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Through his incompetence, he is successful in bringing the company that was supposed to spur economic growth in the province, to the ground and near liquidation. He has no clue of basic management leave aside leading a company with one of the best human resource in the province.
Through the application, the court has been appealed to declare the whole selection process, being malicious in nature as null and void and initiating of a new selection process based on open merit and commensurate with the nature of business under a new and impartial selection committee. The complainants have also requested the apex court for directive the NAB, Peshawar for expediting its inquiry into the illegal appointment of Saeed Ahmad and to take action against persons involved in his illegal appointment and any other appropriate action.