ISLAMABAD: A civil servant officer undergoing training at Postal Services of Pakistan Academy, Pir Ali Rashdi, was not allowed quarantine leave by the department’s coordinator, Ayesha Nayyar, despite submitting a formal application explaining that he was experiencing symptoms of the coronavirus, Pakistan Today has learnt.
It may e noted here that the officer was confirmed to have the coronavirus after receiving test results on Tuesday,
“I informed my coordinator through Whatsapp a while back that I was experiencing symptoms. She said that I had to go to the office none the less. A couple of days ago, I once again informed her of losing my sense of smell and taste and that other symptoms were also gaining severity, to which she replied that everyone is having symptoms these days and “it is not enough for you to take a leave”,” he told this scribe.
“My test results came out positive today but the fact of the matter is that I was forced to put on risk not only two probationers working alongside me but also several common citizens because I was on field duty,” said Ali, expressing his guilt of exposing probably hundreds of others to the infection in order to comply with his senior’s orders.
Similarly, other government officers including Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Compliance Commissioner Farrukh Sabzwari, SECP Islamic Finance Department Executive Director Bilal Rasul and a number of other members of the compliance department of SECP also tested positive a few days ago.
But despite all these employees filing for leave applications after testing positive, SECP chairperson Aamir Khan did not budge and instead urged employees to maintain regular attendance even in illness.
Another Grade 17 officer working with the government of Punjab shared with Pakistan Today on condition of anonymity that despite several people testing positive in his department, there are no precautions being taken by senior officers.
“We have repeatedly requested our section officers and superiors to at least change the workplace seating arrangement but they respond with a non-serious attitude at best,” he said.
Multiple officials from other organisations such as Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) have also reached out to Pakistan Today to air their concerns over constant ignorance of higher officials in face of a global pandemic.
One grade 18 official, requesting anonymity said, “A colleague of mine tested positive himself as well as his entire family, but he continued to come to the office and also went to the mosque for afternoon prayers regularly. No one in our office is doing anything, apart from mandatory masks to ensure that this virus is kept under check and more people are not being exposed”.
The author, Syeda Masooma, is a member of the staff.
