Pakistan rejects appeals in Data Darbar donation case — Dawn

Chief Secretary of Pakistan’s Punjab province Zahid Akhtar Zaman has rejected appeals by the former administrator and manager of Data Darbar in Lahore against disciplinary penalties in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of funds from donation boxes. Dawn reports.

Penalties for officials

The secretary of Punjab’s Auqaf & Religious Affairs Department had previously reduced former administrator Jamil Ahmed in rank and pay scale for five years. He was also deprived of five years of previous service and ordered to recover 9.266 million Pakistani rupees.

Former manager Tahir Maqsood was dismissed from service and ordered to recover 11.325 million rupees. Both officials appealed the penalties, citing, among other things, a decline in donation-box collections compared with the previous year and the opening of the boxes in the presence of the relevant committee.

Audit findings

Imtiaz Ahmed, the official appointed to review the appeals, held personal hearings and examined the case materials, the audit report, and the available evidence. He concluded that the appellants had not provided substantial material that could refute the evidence held by the department.

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The departmental report states that under the previous administration, an unusual and prolonged decline in donation-box collections was recorded, while collections increased significantly after centralized monitoring was introduced. The report also mentions the alleged unauthorized removal of funds, improper use, or leakage of CCTV records.

A commission comprising the director general for religious affairs and the department’s finance director found three of the four charges proven and the fourth partially proven, recommending disciplinary action. After reviewing the official’s findings, the chief secretary dismissed the appeals of Ahmed and Maqsood.

Separate investigation

A separate inquiry is continuing into former department secretary Dr Tahir Raza Bukhari and former director Khalid Mehmood Sandhu. They are accused of alleged financial irregularities involving public funds; recovery of approximately 34 million rupees was recommended for them. Senior Member of the Board of Revenue Nabeel Javed told Dawn that the investigation is still ongoing.