PESHAWAR: A new controversy has surfaced regarding the illegal recruitment of 230 employees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Human Rights Department. The Communication and Works Department Secretary, Asad Ali, has accused a former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) minister and the previous department secretary of orchestrating these unlawful appointments.
A BPS-20 officer and former Director General of the Human Rights Department, Ali, has formally appealed against a show-cause notice issued by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
“It was on the orders and instructions of the then PTI minister for law and the law secretary that my directives dated 23/02/21 were overruled,” he stated.
Former provincial minister Akbar Ayub Khan strongly refuted the allegations, claiming that he was given a temporary charge for only two months and had no role in the recruitments. He added that if he had any involvement, the committee conducting the two-year-long inquiry would have summoned him.
In his detailed appeal, Ali provided a strong defense, asserting his commitment to transparency and merit. He stated that on February 23, 2021, he canceled the entire recruitment process due to irregularities. However, his decision was later overturned by the then minister for law and the secretary, who instructed that the process should continue.
Ali emphasized that transparency had always been his top priority. In line with this, he recommended canceling the recruitment process if there was any doubt about its fairness. The secretary approved the cancellation summary, and all offer letters were withdrawn.
However, higher authorities later intervened and issued instructions to withdraw the cancellation orders through a letter dated March 12, 2021, addressed to the Secretary of the Law & Human Rights Department.
The letter from the minister for law and human rights further stated that the recruitment process had been examined and found to be in accordance with the law and regulations. A shortlisting committee was also formed to scrutinize the applications of candidates for all six advertised positions.
Ali maintains that his role in the recruitment process was minimal. From October 2020 to February 2021, he was attending a senior management course, and the recruitment process proceeded in his absence.
He clarified that the shortlisting and screening committees, composed of senior officers, were solely responsible for evaluating applications based on established criteria, and he himself did not conduct any interviews.
In his appeal, Ali reiterated that despite his absence, he prioritized transparency. Upon identifying discrepancies, he promptly recommended the cancellation of the recruitment process—a decision later ratified by the Secretary of the Law Department.
Furthermore, he contested the charges made by the inquiry committee, arguing that their refusal to acknowledge his cancellation of the recruitment process, along with the subsequent endorsement by the minister for law, rendered their findings unfair.
He urged for the dismissal of the charges, describing them as “baseless, frivolous, and contrary to facts.”
