PAS official suspended through no fault of his own, reinstated after 14 days

PESHAWAR: The federal government has reinstated suspended PAS officer Muhammad Zubair of Grade 20 based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after 14 days and declared him innocent.

Sources in the bureaucracy told this correspondent that Zubair was not given suspension prematurely. Family sources said he was suffering from severe mental stress, although he had nothing to do with sending nurses to Saudi Arabia with fake certificates.

One of the senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such abrupt suspension orders would further deter officials of the federal bureaucracy from taking responsibility and discharging their official duties, as the actions of the NAB had done in the past.

Muhammad Zubair was suspended without investigation or prior notice. He was never appointed as Director General of the Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment, but was given additional duties for a few months while serving as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Affairs.

Sources told this correspondent that about 98 nurses were sent to Saudi Arabia by foreign sponsors from Rawalpindi between October 2022 and December 2023. The private foreign sponsor, in collusion with the Saudi company’s human resources specialist, had uploaded the nurses’ fake certificates and job references into the Saudi software.

Two investigations were conducted into the fraud, ordering action against those responsible, but Muhammad Zubair’s name was not mentioned in these investigations. Interestingly, Muhammad Zubair held the post of deputy secretary. He was also given the additional charge of the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreign Employment for a few months. During this period, only 12 nurses went abroad, while the nurses went to Saudi Arabia with fake certificates before he took over the charge.

Despite this, Muhammad Zubair was suspended on May 13, 2024, without any investigation, hearing or summons. Muhammad Zubair submitted a statement to the Department of State Secretaries, which was accepted, and he was reinstated on May 27, 2024. Muhammad Zubair has held many important positions in the province, including Commissioner of Peshawar and State Secretary.