COMSATS Secretariat Chief Accused of Giving Foreign Project to Son Illegally

An explosive fact-finding report from the Prime Minister’s Office has triggered a massive nepotism scandal at the COMSATS Secretariat. It alleges that the Executive Director Nafees Zakaria, rerouted a lucrative foreign contract from the Government of Azerbaijan straight to a private firm owned by his own son.

ProPakistani contacted the COMSATS Secretariat for its response to the inquiry. No response was received 2 hours after submission of the query. It will be added if received.

The report exposes the ED’s alleged role in administrative, procedural, and financial irregularities at the COMSATS Secretariat. The committee also stated that several requested institutional records were allegedly not provided despite repeated requests, limiting parts of its investigation.

The Executive Director allegedly bypassed the COMSATS Charter and Statutes by failing to convene key statutory bodies, including the Consultative Committee, Technical Advisory Committee, and Management Committee. It also alleges that mandatory Board of Management meetings of COMSATS Internet Services were not held.

The inquiry further alleges that several research and development initiatives were launched without feasibility studies, budget approvals, or authorization.

The report also alleges that the Azerbaijan training contract was subcontracted to a private company owned by the Executive Director’s son, while a Rs. 399 million ICT training contract for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s merged districts was allegedly subcontracted to a private institute without the required approvals.

The report criticizes the creation of new senior posts and promotions at the Islamabad headquarters.

The committee said it was unable to complete its assessment of the financial impact because the Director of Finance allegedly failed to provide requested financial records despite repeated summons.

The inquiry recommends that the federal government, through the Ministry of Science and Technology, place the matter before the Consultative Committee and initiate comprehensive forensic, administrative, financial, and human resource audits.

It also proposes amendments to the 2015 COMSATS Statutes to strengthen oversight, reduce the concentration of authority in the Executive Director’s office, and ensure regular meetings of statutory bodies.