A company related to Tania Aidrus, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Digital Pakistan, and PM Khan’s confidante, Jahangir Tareen, has stirred a controversy on social media.
Though Tania is associated with PM Imran Khan’s Digital Pakistan initiative, she has also been revealed to be in the board of directors of a company ‘Digital Pakistan Foundation’ alongside Jahangir Tareen, his lawyer Bashir Mohmand and Careem’s CEO Mudassar Ilyas Sheikha.
As per details, Tania returned to Pakistan last year, leaving her job as a Google executive to lead the initiative. In February this year, she was formally appointed on Digital Pakistan.
A few days later, as per recent disclosures and confirmed by Aidrus, a not-for-profit organization named Digital Pakistan Foundation (DPF) was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) with Aidrus, Tareen, and Sheikha being the founding members. That’s where the controversy begins.
Conflict of Interest
According to the constitutions experts, Tania Aidrus or anyone else for that matter cannot and should not hold any position which lacks transparency or leads to a conflict of interest.
When approached, Waqas Mir, a constitutional lawyer, said:
In her capacity as SAPM, she shouldn’t consult the government or advice it in relation to a private body where she serves as a board member.
If the organization under question bid for any government contracts where Ms. Aidrus is also present in the capacity of a decision-maker, such a conflict of interest needs to be disclosed.
As per a general rule, when a conflict of interest is disclosed, the person with the conflict doesn’t participate in the voting or decision-making process when it is taken up by the relevant government department or agency.
Tania’s Response
Upon contacting, Ms. Aidrus confirmed the report saying that there is no issue with SAPM holding a position in a not-for-profit company.
There is absolutely no issue with a SAPM being on the board of a not-for-profit company. It’s important to remember that this is not a private limited company and the same sector would only be an issue when the company is a profit-making entity.
The foundation will not take any payments from the government, rather looks to provide free-of-cost support to the government in its digitization initiatives, she added.
About Tareen’s Involvement
Aidrus also confirmed that Tareen was one of the board members when DPF was founded, as he then was linked to the government’s reform initiatives.
However, due to his personal and business commitments, Tareen resigned from the board.
On April 15, 2020, Mr. Tareen chose to resign as member and director and informed the board accordingly. The SECP approved his request to resign as a subscriber member on April 23.
Financial Gains
Aidrus highlighted that no board of director or chairperson was allowed to draw salary or any stipend from the organization while holding any public office.
She noted that the board members have not signed any contracts even exchanged at this point. Like any other not-for-profit organization, Digital Pakistan Foundation will also require the government/regulator’s requisite approval to operate.
Via: Dawn
There is nothing wrong in it. Jehangir Tareen and Tania Airdus have established a foundation that will ultimately help Pakistan. Both are Patriotic Pakistanis ( not like traitor Patwaris). If this foundation will win Government based IT contracts then it is better for all of us.
You guys need to fix the approach to issues like this, if this was an European country, she would have been sacked from her role by now for not disclosing such a relationship with a private entity whether for profit or not for profit.
I believe the western view is that it is rather determined by the conflict of interest, i.e. an overlap or ‘self-dealing’ involved.
So let us try not to nitpick on this one.
PTI needs supporters like you, great job, keep up the good work, very good, well done, shabash, congratulation that PTI achieved the milestone…..are you happy now? if not then PTI may open another IT company with likes of Fawad Chaudary, Zulfi Bukhari and some other “jewels”, what a wastage that we have a sales girl leading the show
Thievery never stops in Pakistan….another inqury and another report. Corruption was never so much headlined during Nawaz Sharif’s Regime
It has been proven with the passage of time that current government is not different from previous government. Only difference is of education. PML(N) was corrupt and illiterate but current government is doing smart and bigger corruption with foreign educated people.
Offshore companies or conflict of interest are only made for PMLN and other parties not for PTI?
Andrais and Tareen just trying to violate the rules of COI so they should suspend from responsibility.
Well my question is that how PMLN was illiterate?. Most of their members were the graduates from the top universities of the world. Look at the profile of “Umar Saif”, Maryam Nayam, Ishaq Dar, Ehsan Iqbal and others.
Even Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is a Pilot and has reached edge of space at around 72000 Feet. PMLN has more educated people than most people think.
لو جی گئی بھینس پانی میں
Told these governments position holders million times, your interest cannot be more than national interest.
Another NAB case in making..
I think it is the time that we realise that these politicians will not build anything for us, Its our own responsibility to excel in our fields and bring the pride back to our community as a Muslim Ummah with the help of Allah and by establishing unity between us instead of leg pulling of one another.
Instead of wasting time on the politics lets spend some time improving our skills and spending time in tableegh to help identify our areas of failure.
May Allah bless us all.
Can you give me any example of the Islamic Ummah where Muslims of different ethnic origins lived under one leadership even for one year?. So what Glory days you want to bring back?
Turks always fought with Arabs. Arabs always fought among themselves and with Turks. Turks and Kurds are killing each for a long time now. Iranians and Arabs always attacked each other. Even Afghans attacked Muslim Punjabis and Sindhis in the past.
So please elaborate the Glory days of Islamic Ummah?. Thanks.