RAWALPINDI, May 22: Federal Service Tribunal (FST) has restored an employee of Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), who was dismissed in 2005 for awarding contracts worth millions of rupees to a fake British company in 1997.

The member of FST Syed Bilal Ahmed and Ayaz H Bukhari in their judgment on May 15 said the employee was “made a scapegoat in the scam” to save the skin of senior officials.

The FST members accepted the appeal of Irfan Ahmed Khan and restored him. He was dismissed from services in 2005 when a fact-finding inquiry committee recommended his dismissal and imposition of minor penalties on eight other officials of the POF.

The tribunal ordered the appellant should be reinstated to his position of a charge-man in BPS 12 saying he was made a scapegoat just to protect the big guns as all other officials held responsible in the inquiry were given minor punishments.

Irfan in his appeale to the FST through his legal counsel Advocate Fazal Siddiqui maintained that the enquiry team probing the award of over 105 million pounds contract held nine officials--Arms Ammunition Factory MD Basharat Ali Mali, DG Muhammad Iqbal, Manager Purchase Afsar Abbasi, Manager Muhammad Sahrif, manager Muahmmad Akram, manager M Shafi Khattak, assistant manager Zaki Iqbal Uppal and charge Amin Irfan-- responsible and recommended minor punishments such as warning and censure but Irfan was dismissed.

They were held responsible for awarding contracts to M/S Metal and Matrix UK for supply of 20847 tons of aluminum alloy and 4.97 tons of aluminum alloy strips in 1997 but the company proved fake incurring huge loss to national exchequer.

Some officials were booked by FIA and were later indicted by accountability court for corruption. However the Lahore High Court accepted their appeals and set aside their convictions.

The FST in the verdict said the appellant should be reinstated with all back benefits and dues.

Complaint against judge

A widow of a navy officer lodged a complaint with Chief Justice Lahore High Court against a civil judge of Chakwal and his staff for maneuvering in the judicial documents and fraud.

Khadija Sakhawat widow of Sakhawat Hussain through her counsel Advocate Ghufran Khursheed Imtiazi alleged that she field a suit for obtaining succession certificate with the court of Civil Judge Sardar Hamid in February 2009.

In the meantime her step-son Shahid Hussain filed a separate application for succession with Civil Judge Nadeem Abbas Saki. The complainant said she informed the judge Nadeem that she was also successor of the deceased Sakhawat but the judge issued the certificate to Shahid without hearing her and by tempering with the legal documents.
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