ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister Naeemul Haque said Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed State Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul to withdraw her letter written to National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) regarding her sister’s appointment.
In a post on Twitter, Haque said, “The PM has directed that Zartaj Gul shud withdraw her letter written to NACTA regarding the appointment of her sister. This was against the ethics of PTI which has always opposed nepotism. No one in the PTI govt is can promote their relatives/friends by using their positions.”
A day earlier, the federal government had appointed Gul’s sister, Shabnam Gul as the director of NACTA.
According to media, Gul’s Principal Staff Officer Sami-ul-Haq wrote a letter to the secretary interior on February 27, 2019, which stated, “I am directed to refer to your telephonic conversation with Ms Zartaj Gul, Minister of State for Climate, regarding the appointment of Ms Shabnam Gul in Nacta. The CV of Ms Shabnam Gul is attached herewith for further necessary action please.”
The government’s move was widely criticised on social media.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, while responding to a tweet had said, Shabnam Gul has is a “PhD in [counter] terrorism and FATA, and selected after interviews”.
However, NACTA did offer a clarification in this regard saying that it received a total of 12 requests from employees of different federal and provincial government departments working in BS 17 to 19 for posting in NACTA on deputation basis.
“Ms Shabnam Gul was one of the selected candidates. The committee recommended her purely on merit for posting against one of the vacant posts of directors as she is already working in BS-19,” it clarified.
