ISLAMABAD: On Sunday, the Establishment Division finally issued a notification for the ‘transfer’ of Zafar Iqbal Gondal, Chairman of the Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) for allegedly misusing the official resources and even staff members in the election campaign of his close relatives, including PPP’s Nazar Gondal, who is his elder brother. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued an order to the Establishment Division on Thursday for the notification regarding transfer/repatriation of Zafar Gondal to his parent department. “We received the ECP communication today and issued the notification immediately as was desired,” said the Establishment Division Secretary Ahmad Bakhsh Lehri, when The News approached him on telephone. The ECP, through the letter a copy of which is available with this correspondent, asked the Establishment Division to furnish a compliance report within 48 hours. The Commission noted that since close relatives of Zafar Gondal are contesting elections in NA-64, NA-109, PP-28, PP-29, PP-119 and PP-120, his status could badly influence transparency of elections by virtue of presence of EOBI field offices in these constituencies. “Hence the Commission has shown its concern over his prolonged deputation and has directed that he may be immediately transferred/ repatriated to his parent ministry,” the letter said.The Commission referred to a complaint received from Syed Mubashir Razi Jaffri, secretary general of EOBI Employees Federation of Pakistan, despite the fact that the deputation period of Zafar Gondal, a BPS-20 officer in EOBI had expired in December last year, but he was still continuing in his office.
