KARACHI: Officers of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) misled the DG HR Department, Chairman of EOBI and Board of Trustees against illegal recruitment and an illegal cadre of dismissed officer Ghulam Asghar Sheikh and have planned to change and upgrade his cadre.
According to the details, the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), a sub-department of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistan and Human Resource Development has failed in collecting contributions from the employees.
Regional Heads and BAT Officers in EOBI Regional Offices Head Office and under the patronage of highly corrupt top officials of B&C are blackmailing registered employers through heavy demand notices in the name of EOBI contribution. They are engaged in extortion, as a result of which millions of employees working in these institutions and their families have been deprived of their pension rights in the future.
According to the documents, Mohammad Naeem Shaukat Qaim Khani, who has double charge in EOBI, illegally recruited under the patronage of Director Coordination Chairman Secretariat and Director General Administration Department and then dismissed officer Ghulam Asghar Sheikh was transferred to Assistant Director Transport Head Office on April 15. A meeting of the Board of Trustees is being held to pave the way for illegal transfers and promotions of cadre, office cadre, while the fact is that at present Ghulam Asghar Sheikh’s institution has been illegally recruited and fired. As an officer, he is not subject to any cadre of EOBI.
Sources said that while demonstrating through alleged manipulation of records by the Director Coordination Chairman Secretariat, EOBI’s principled chairman Shakeel Ahmed Manganijo and female Director-General HR Department Shazia Rizvi were completely misled in this matter.
It is learned that the recruitment of Mohammad Naeem Shaukat Qaim Khani in EOBI is absolutely illegal. According to the official records, Mohammad Naeem Shaukat Qaim Khani Employee No 923535 was recruited by suppressing the right of Muhammad Riaz, an illegal candidate in 2007. after which during the annual audit in 2018, the government auditors had recommended disciplinary action against Muhammad Naeem Shaukat, declaring his recruitment and promotion illegal.
His son-in-law Ghulam Asghar Sheikh, who was hired as Assistant Engineer (Civil) on contract in EOBI on October 24, 2002 on the recommendation of Nooruddin Sheikh, former Financial Advisor, EOBI, is currently posted as Assistant Director Transport, Employee No. 922407. After the expiry of the contract period, the contract was extended on 31st October 2003 through Notification No. 69/2003. The contract was then extended for another two years. Similarly, keeping all the rules and regulations in abeyance, Ghulam Asghar Sheikh was given a third term on September 15, 2006, despite the order not to extend the contract further under notification no. Then an extension of one year was made.
A meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) was held on April 22, 2006, at the Head Office Karachi to investigate the cases of EOBI contract employees and regularize them as per the prescribed rules and regulations. After reviewing the case of Sheikh Assistant Engineer (Civil), his contract employment was declared illegal and his employment was refused to be regularized.
Later, instead of dismissing Ghulam Asghar Sheikh, he was given a letter from Pakistan Real Estate and Management Company (PRIMACO), a subsidiary of EOBI. As per the meeting 19 December 2006, the services of Ghulam Asghar Sheikh as Assistant Engineer (Civil) were entrusted to PRIMACO and he took charge as Manager Real State PRIMSCO at Awami Markaz Karachi on December 30, 006.
Meanwhile, Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, former Federal Minister for Labor and Manpower of PPP from Sukkur informed the EOBI through a rare royal decree on September 22, 2008 that he had complied with the EOBI’s employment regulations. Ghulam Asghar Sheikh has been regularized on the employment of EOBI as Assistant Engineer (Civil) since the date of his contract, so now his services can be used anywhere in EOBI or PRIMACO.
In response to this illegal order of Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, EOBI’s Human Resource Development Department Head Office Karachi on September 24, 2009 provided Deputy Secretary Ministry of Labor with brief information about Ghulam Asghar Sheikh’s contract and details of his employment. Ghulam Asghar Sheikh’s contract employment with EOBI ended on 31st December 2006 and he is now working on a new contract in PRIMACO, hence after the termination of Ghulam Asghar Sheikh’s contract his services cannot be regularized at EOBI.
Meanwhile, Ghulam Asghar Sheikh, a very influential officer, used his political influence to gain access to the Board of Trustees of EOBI and thanks to his running and strong recommendation, a subcommittee of human resources surprisingly in its meeting on June 7, 2010 not only illegally regularized the contract employment of Ghulam Asghar Sheikh but also created the post of unjustified Assistant Engineer (Civil) in EOBI to fill it and then the Board of Trustees of EOBI also misused its powers by approving this illegal decision of the Human Resources Committee held on May 2, 2010 at its 99th meeting.
Informed sources said that Ghulam Asghar Sheikh, a very influential officer of EOBI, was completely unfamiliar with civil engineering from his office affairs. Later, on the orders of the then Federal Minister for Labor and Manpower Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah, the services of Ghulam Asghar Sheikh were returned to EOBI from PRIMACO and since then Ghulam Asghar Sheikh has been illegally used as a profitable and key assistant director of transport an enjoying his posting.
Ghulam Asghar Sheikh Assistant Director has a monthly option of at least 200 government vehicles of EOBI, thousands of liters of petrol, and repair and maintenance of dozens of drivers and vehicles. By allocating vehicles and repairing and maintaining their vehicles and providing them with petrol cards in excess of the prescribed limit, it is engaged in protecting of its illegal employment. The majority of the vehicles are also illegally being used by Asghar Sheikh and his favourites.
Sources said that Ghulam Asghar Sheikh had recruited his front man Sabir Kashmiri (who was originally recruited as a bookbinder in EOBI but he flattered some senior officers and made his appointment as deputy courier in the General Administration Department), but the work is being done by the driver and due to this EOBI has to get the book binding of its office record from the market at the cost of thousands of rupees while Sabir Kashmiri as the better of corrupt officer Ghulam Asghar Sheikh Vehicles with government number plates is being used illegally.
Ghulam Asghar Sheikh has provided EOBI officer Naeem Shaukat Qaim Khani with several new EOBI vehicles and petrol cards to protect his illegal employment and to please his superiors. In Hyderabad, the goods are being used for free. The responsible sources said that if the use of company vehicles, misuse of petrol cards and repair of vehicles of the company and Sensational revelations are expected if massive embezzlement in the name of maintenance and transparent manipulation of records are investigated.
Employees of EOBI have accused the newly elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif of misusing the powers of some top officials involved in long running illegal activities in EOBI, the national body of millions of poor workers in the country. The Fund Trust has called for immediate end to gross corruption, embezzlement, commission and extortion and manipulation of the institution’s official records and all forms of lawlessness.
In this regard, Ghulam Asghar Sheikh when contacted said that his cadre will be changed from engineering cadre to office cadre in the meeting held on April 15. Earlier, the cadre of two junior engineers Hafeez and Zia was changed and they were transferred to office cadre. Yes, I was recruited in 2002 and confirmed in 2006, Sheikh said.
