KARACHI: A deputy collector (DC) is a government servant who is supposed to generate revenue for our country and not take out his personal frustrations on others by making them, especially importers, a victim of his vendetta. He is not allowed to do it.
Port Qasim Deputy Collector Athar Naveed, who pays no heed to the grievances of traders, is a mentally challenged and a totally frustrated person.
Importers have alleged that the DC has problems in his family, and after getting frustrated from those family problems and brawls with his wife, he takes out his frustration on the importers.
The importers said that no government office allows its officers to take meal and nap five times a day during office hours. However, Athar Naveed seems to be enjoying immunity.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should not hire or retain mentally challenged employees. The mental fitness of workers, especially whose on important positions, should be one of the key concerns of the Federal Board of Revenue.
The FBR should supervise and take proper frustration and depression tests of such officers, at least when it is highlighted by importers and the media. A depressed person is a danger not only to himself but also to others. This depression can also tragically lead to suicide in some instances. If we recall the plane crash that took place in late March, we come to know that Andreas Lubitz, the German pilot – who deliberately crashed Germanwings Flight 9525 and killed around 150 people – also struggled with depression.
Deputy Collector Athar Naveed, due to his mental illness, is not only causing difficulties for the importers but also for the Port Qasim Collectorate itself. The collectorate has already missed its revenue collection target for the month of April by almost Rs 376.85 million.
It may also be mentioned here that importers have decided to shift their businesses from MCC-Port Muhammad Bin Qasim to other field formation collectorates due to continuous hardships faced in the process of examination and assessment by the authorities concerned.
They said that continuous difficulties in getting their consignments cleared and harsh behaviour of the DC in assessment compelled them to prefer other collectorates like Appraisement-West and Appraisement-East for clearance of their consignments.
