A senior officer of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) committed suicide after he was dropped from promotion by the PEPCO Promotion Board. According to reliable sources, Raja Nasir Abbas, Superintending Engineer in IESCO, committed suicide on 8th July 2019. He was dropped from promotion list for his refusal to dislocate being a patient of Hepatitis-C and his doctors being in Islamabad. His family was also in Islamabad and he had declined to shift outside the IESCO.
It may be noted that interviews for promotion from superintending engineers to chief engineers were conducted by the PEPCO Promotion Board on 6th July with Secretary Power Division in the chair. The common question before all the candidates was whether they were ready to shift outside their present station. Raja Nasir Abbas pleaded that he has put in long years of excellent service in the department and has always achieved tremendous results but he would not be able to shift to Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO).
He emphasized upon implementation of the transfer/posting policy of PEPCO approved by PEPCO Board and issued on 23/11/2018 vide No. 918-23/SECY/ PEPCO /BOD/M-71/Item-15 which deals with the promotion of XENs, SEs & CEs working in DISCOs in the next higher rank as SEs, CEs & GMs by PEPCO on the basis of integrated seniority maintained at PEPCO level, which enshrines that an officer on promotion will be posted at his parent company, if position/vacancy is available.
If the position/vacancy in the parent company is not available, the officer will be posted from nearest to farthest DISCO on the basis of seniority. Upon availability of vacant position in parent company, the senior most officers will be posted back in his parent company.
The Promotion Board declined to accommodate Raja Nasir Abbas in his parent company on promotion though vacant posts of chief engineers were available in IESCO. The Promotion Board contended that the above policy is not being followed now. All officers will be shifted out of their parent DISCOs on promotion. The promotion order from SEs to CEs was issued on 08/07/2019 by PEPCO and Raja Nasir Abbas was dropped from promotion.
He went under severe depression and stress when he learnt the news. It is reported that he told his family that he is highly frustrated for not getting promotion. He shot himself and committed suicide due to frustration.