LAHORE - The smooth working of Governor’s Secretariat has been hampered, as Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa has virtually become a sandwich between his team of five advisors and the bureaucracy due to continuous squabbles between the latter two.
Sources in the Governor’s House said that conflicting moves by the two sides have been a cause of annoyance for Governor Khosa who often finds himself in an awkward situation when something goes wrong due to infighting between the political advisors and the babus who have repeatedly accused governor’s advisors of interference in matters of the Governor’s Secretariat.
Governor’s Military Secretary left Governor’s House a month back before completion of his three-year term accusing one of governor’s advisors of interfering in his work.
Of late, the establishment in Governor’s House put the squeeze on Khosa’s advisors by denying them some perks and clamping ban on their making communication with other departments on governor’s letterhead following complaints of misuse of authority by them. In a similar development, except a lady advisor, who continues to occupy a room in the main building, the rest have been bundled off to an adjacent building, now called the advisor’s block.
The bureaucracy has also thwarted a move from governor’s advisors to have vehicles from the federal government on the plea that they were not entitled to have official cars under the rules. It has also raised objections to use of official telephone by them, saying there was no budgetary allocation for advisors for payment of their telephone bills by the Governor’s Secretariat.
It is interesting to note that some of governor’s advisors have themselves provided an excuse to the babus in Governor’s Secretariat to curtail their powers. A few months back, a senior adviser to the governor, Zahid Bashir, had a brawl with a tailor who accused him of misusing official authority by dragging him in the court. The matter was resolved later on when governor directed his advisor to settle the issue with the other party.
A media consultant, Irfan Alvi used governor’s letterhead to communicate with a cellular company to seek three cellphone handsets, one for the Governor Khosa, and one each for his two advisors. Mr Bashir was issued a warning while Mr Alvi was sacked instantly without giving him the opportunity of being heard.
There are squabbling even among the advisors too. But in a latest development, it has been learnt that they have vowed to maintain unity among their ranks and confront the babus jointly. Currently, the governor is doing with five advisors which include: Zahid Bashir, Munawar Anjum, Tanveer Ahmed Butt, Abdullah Malik and Bushra Malik.
Many believe that Governor Khosa should apply his party’s policy of reconciliation in his own office too to reconcile his political advisors and the bureaucracy. Spokesman for the Governor, Ishtiaq Ameen, however, told TheNation that there was no interference by advisers in the official work and Governor’s Secretariat was working smoothly.