Bureaucrats Wait, Elites Profit

 Dr Akhtar Ali Shah

Peshawar: “Roti, kapra aur makaan” — bread, clothing, and housing — have long been recognised as the most basic needs of every human being. A decent home is not just a shelter; it is a lifelong aspiration that every citizen carries. 

Welfare states across the world, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), make special efforts to turn this aspiration into reality by providing housing schemes, loans, and subsidies for their people.

In the modern era, human resources are rightly considered the greatest assets of any organisation. Employees, being human and not machines, have hopes, desires, and yearn for a dignified life. Organisations, therefore, offer incentives such as housing facilities as part of welfare measures to motivate their workforce and enhance productivity. 

This realization gave rise to a number of welfare organisations in Pakistan, including the Fauji Foundation, Army Welfare Trust, Defence Housing Authority, Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF), Pakistan Housing Foundation, and National Police Foundation.

Among these, the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation, which was converted into the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) in 2019, was specifically tasked with providing houses or plots to serving and retired civil servants through a fair and transparent mechanism.

Its mission statement promises affordable housing for eligible federal employees in Pakistan’s major cities, offering what it claims to be a secure, healthy, and decent environment. On paper, it appears noble. In practice, however, the story is one of exploitation, manipulation, and deep disappointment.

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From 1989 to 2013, the Authority allotted 22,642 units. Since 2014, however, its performance has been abysmal. Initially, members were asked to deposit Rs. 100,000 each with assurances of plots in Islamabad. Schemes failed to materialize. 

Instead, the Authority continued to launch repeated membership drives, extracting more money while ignoring senior members who had been waiting the longest. In one such scheme, members were asked to pay as much as Rs. 3 million each for a joint project with the Supreme Court Bar Association at Park Road. 

Years of litigation followed, leaving government employees in limbo. In the end, possession was granted only to the Bar Association while civil servants — the very people the Authority was meant to serve — were left high and dry.

This dismal track record is compounded by blatant favouritism and abuse of power. Reports reveal that senior federal secretaries managed to secure developed plots for themselves in coveted sectors such as D-12/2, bypassing long-serving members. 

Manipulations went further: summaries were allegedly altered to secure even second plots for certain favourites. Former Chief Justice Athar Minallah himself observed: “It also shows how summaries are manipulated in order to mislead the Federal Cabinet so as to get favourable decisions.”

Such practices are not mere administrative lapses. They amount to clear violations of Articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which guarantee equality before the law. They also represent a breach of the fiduciary duty owed by the Housing Authority to its members. 

The cost of these violations has been borne by honest government servants. Many members who deposited millions of rupees have waited more than a decade without receiving possession. Some retired in despair. Others passed away before securing what was rightfully theirs. 

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One employee lamented, “After depositing Rs. 31 lakhs in 2014, I have seen no development towards possession. Justice delayed is justice denied.” Another remarked bitterly, “We are children of a lesser god.”

Amid this betrayal, one senior civil servant has decided to raise his voice. Dr. Syed Akhtar Ali Shah — a former officer of the Police Service of Pakistan, former Secretary to the Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (Home & Tribal Affairs Department), ex-Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry with the status of a High Court Judge, and recipient of both the Quaid-e-Azam Police Medal and the President’s Police Medal — has formally lodged a protest with the FGEHA.

Dr. Shah has been a member of the Authority since 2009 (Serial No. 6640, Seniority No. 290, Category-I, BPS-20 now BPS-21). He deposited Rs. 100,000 and later Rs. 6 million for Plot No. 3, Road No. 2, Sector G (Park Road / DHA Margalla Orchard). More than a decade later, possession remains unavailable.

For Dr. Shah, this is not merely about his own case but about the principle of fairness and justice. He has appealed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Federal Cabinet, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take immediate notice of these irregularities and order a comprehensive, independent inquiry and financial audit of FGEHA’s allotment policies. 

He has further urged the National Assembly Standing Committee on Housing & Works to summon FGEHA officials and exercise parliamentary oversight to ensure transparency and protect the rights of employees.

“This is not merely a personal grievance,” Dr. Shah has asserted. “It is a question of fairness, transparency, and justice for hundreds of senior members who have given decades of service to the State but continue to be deprived of their lawful rights. An impartial audit, strict accountability, and parliamentary scrutiny are essential to restore confidence in the system.”

He has also issued a warning: if the grievances of members are not redressed within two weeks, he will have no choice but to go on a hunger strike in front of the Islamabad Press Club. Such a drastic step, he says, is the only option left to protest against injustice, manipulation, and the elite capture of housing schemes that were meant for government servants.

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The case of the FGEHA is not simply about plots or possession; it is about the credibility of institutions, the rights of civil servants, and the state’s moral obligation to treat its employees with dignity and fairness.

If those who dedicated their lives to public service cannot trust a housing authority created for their welfare, then what hope is left for ordinary citizens? Accountability, transparency, and immediate corrective action are no longer optional — they are necessary to restore faith in the system. 

The writer is former Secretary to Government Home & Tribal Affairs Department,  retired IGP. He holds PHD in Political Science and is Chairman of National Think Tank & Good Governance Forum.

The article is the writer’s opinion, it may or may not adhere to the organization’s editorial policy.