The Rise and Rise of Blue-Eyed Boys

Inquiries show how certain rulers help recruit, promote and use bureaucrats as proxies to promote their own financial interests

LAHORE: Among other things, the year 2022 was marked by an end to the threat of forced retirement and subsequent accountability of top bureaucrats found to be corrupt or delinquent. This happened in May when the Establishment Division under Shehbaz Sharif government repealed the Civil Servants (Directory Retirement from Service) Rules 2020.

These rules were promulgated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in 2020 and provided for forced retirement of civil servants found guilty of corruption, having entered a plea bargain with an investigation agency or had unbecoming conduct.

Many believe that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif repealed the law to benefit the blue-eyed bureaucrats, including Principal Secretary to PM, Dr Tauqeer Shah, Imdadullah Bosal, Mohammad Khan Bhatti, Sara Saeed and others, who were subsequently promoted to Grade-22 just a day before their appraisal by a high-powered board under the previous law.

Opposition circles believe, however, that as and when the PTI scores a victory in the next general elections, the nepotistic policy of promoting blue-eyed bureaucrats will come to an end and officials like Dr Tauqir Shah and Muhammad Khan Bhatti will not be able to continue on the top slots.

“We are hopeful that after we come to power with two-third majority both at the centre and in the Punjab province, (the current Punjab chief minister) Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and his allies will not be able to stop Imran Khan from appointing bureaucrats entirely on merit, like he did during his previous term,” said one bureaucrat sympathetic to PTI.

Extraordinary postings in Punjab

A senior bureaucrat who is currently serving in Punjab alleged that Bhatti is using his position to earn huge bribes by ordering questionable transfers and postings in the province.

He said that soon after Chaudhry Pervez Elahi was sworn in as the CM Punjab on 27 July, he ordered bulk transfers and postings. The transfers and postings ordered on 30 July included five deputy commissioners, two additional deputy commissioners and one deputy secretary of BS-18; one officer on special duty (OSD) of BS-19; one officer of BS-20; and one secretary and two additional chief secretaries of BS-21.

A day later, on 31 July, seven police (PSP) officers of BS-20 were transferred. More transfers ordered on 01 August included one BS-17 officer; two deputy secretaries, one additional deputy commissioner and five deputy commissioners of BS-18; and one additional secretary, one special secretary as well as a director and the director-general of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) of BS-19.

One additional Secretary of BS-19 and two deputy secretaries of BS-18 were transferred on 02 August, one OSD of BS-18 was given a posting on 04 August while another OSD of BS-18 was posted on 05 August.

“These transfers and postings that were ordered within a week are at least two times more than the entire three-year-plus tenure of the PTI chief minister, Usman Buzadar, and the three-month stint in office by his successor, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif,” one deputy commissioner told Bol News. He said that Bhatti had been behind these bulk postings, and has been pocketing huge bribes in return.

“Nobody is ready to speak about it in public because Bhatti is a close aide of the Punjab CM, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, and is very powerful at the moment,” he said, adding that   investigations into his alleged corruption might take place once he ceases to be the CM’s principal secretary, or when the CM’s term in office comes to an end.

Bol News tried to contact Muhammad Khan Bhatti to elicit his reaction, but he could not be reached. However, an assistant to Punjab CM, Salman Zafar Chaudhry, defended him, saying he was an upright officer, and that rumours about his corruption were spread by political opponents to defame Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. “If anyone has any proof against Bhatti, they should bring it forth and submit a complaint,” he said.

One senior bureaucrat recalls, however, that Bhatti was under investigation in a money laundering case along with Chaudhry Moonis Elahi in the past. Those listed as Moonis Elahi’s accomplices in the case included Bhatti’s two nephews, Sajid Bhatti and Wajid Bhatti. Sajid Bhatti is currently serving as the parliamentary leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) in Punjab, and is also the chairman of the provincial Public Accounts Committee.

The case was dismissed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in October due to lack of evidence.

Bhatti’s rise

Mohammad Khan Bhatti’s career started during the 1990s when his brother, Ahmad Khan Bhatti, was working with the Chaudhrys of Gujrat. He was appointed as a grade-7 officer in 1995 as part of the union council government at a time when Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was the chairman of the concerned union council. In 1997, in an unusual career hike, he was promoted to Grade-19 and posted in the Punjab Assembly. Source allege that Pervez Elahi used public funds to build a four-kanal house for Bhatti in Lahore. The house has been registered in his name since 2007.

When corruption charges were filed against Bhatti in 2008, he was relieved of his posting at the provincial assembly by the assembly speaker, Rana Iqbal. However, he was acquitted by the LHC and returned to the assembly when Chaudhry Parvez Elahi was appointed as Speaker in 2018. He was appointed as secretary to the Speaker and promoted to Grade-22, the highest grade in civil service.

There is evidence to suggest that Bhatti’s links to Chaudhry Pervez Elahi are not limited to government service only. After his dismissal from Punjab Assembly in 2008, he was appointed the political secretary of Pervez Elahi and played a part in the financial affairs of the Chaudhry’s family. This came to light when he was accused as an accomplice in a money-laundering case linked to the Chaudhrys’ Rahim Yar Sugar Mill.

Rahim Yar Sugar Mill was founded in 2007 by Qasim Nawaz Bhatti and Mazhar Abbassi. The request for the mill’s no-objection certificate (NOC) was submitted by ex-minister Khusro Bakhtiar’s brother, Umer Bakhtiar, and was promptly approved by Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, who was the chief minister.

The investigation report claims that Qasim Nawaz’s share in the project was shown as 31 percent while that of Mazhar Abbasi was 35 percent. However, the value of investment rose to Rs 720 million in 2008. The source of these additional assets remains unclear, says the report. It further states that while both Qasim and Mazhar sold their shares during 2011-14, details of such transactions are not available.

After changing several hands, 34 percent of the company’s shares were bought by two offshore companies, namely CasketTech Private Limited and XCapital Private Limited. According to FIA officials, both these companies are owned by Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, with a 10 percent share of Wajid Bhatti, whose brother, Sajid Bhatti, is the current chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

Moreover, Makhdoom Umer Sheheryar, whose brother Khusroo Bakhtiar was a minister during the reign of General Pervaiz Musharaf, and his son-in-law, Tariq Javed, also held a 31 percent stake in the sugar mill until 2020.

The FIA suspects that Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and Moonis Elahi have been using proxies to hide their part of the funding to establish the sugar mill.

So, while the money laundering case against Bhatti has been dismissed and he may be flying high for the moment, there is every chance that will again hit the radar of the accountability watchdog once he is out of power.