ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has yet to receive a formal notification regarding the deputation of its Director General Administration, although the officer has been performing the duties of the post for the past several months without official orders.
Capt. (R) Awais Afzal Chaudhry, a Grade-18 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), is currently serving in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). At the same time, he has been holding the additional responsibilities of the Director General Administration at the CDA despite the absence of a formal appointment or deputation notification.
When contacted, officials in the relevant formation of the authority confirmed that no official appointment or deputation order for the officer is available on record. They said he has been working on the verbal directions of Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi.
Mr. Awais is considered a close aide of the interior minister. Owing to his role in the anti-encroachment operation on state land in Bari Imam, he was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan.
Before joining the PCB, he served as a Section Officer in the Ministry of Interior. Belonging to the 47th Common Training Programme, he is regarded as a de-fecto Chairman CDA as he is a blue eyed of big bosses.
Sources said the CDA had moved a summary seeking the services of Mr. Awais on deputation; however, no formal notification has been issued to date.
Meanwhile, the prevailing ad hoc arrangements within the CDA are also evident from the fact that three other key positions are reportedly being managed without following the prescribed deputation mechanism. Officers from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration have been assigned these additional responsibilities.
The additional charge of Deputy Financial Advisor-III has been assigned to Bushra Iqbal Rao, Director General Land to Usman Ashraf, and Deputy Commissioner CDA to Farhan Ahmed, contrary to the established practice.
Under the applicable rules, the additional charge of a vacant post may be assigned to an officer of the same organization for a maximum period of three months by the head of the department. Any extension beyond that period requires approval from the competent higher authority.
However, sources alleged that in these cases, the Secretary Interior directly assigned additional charges to officers from other organizations. Some of these officers have continued to serve beyond the initial three-month period without the approval of the competent authority.
The CDA’s spokesperson Shahid Kiani was approached for his comments. He has committed to respond after getting updates from the relevant formations but did not reply till filing of this story.
