Flawed Auto Policy Row: Journalist Mohammad Malick Calls for Military Intervention
ISLAMABAD: Senior journalist Mohammad Malick has called for intervention by the country’s military leadership, raising questions over what he described as excessive bureaucratic influence and alleged vested financial interests in government policy decisions.
In a post on social media platform X, Malick claimed that while the country was mourning the deaths of 14 children allegedly linked to bureaucratic negligence, the Prime Minister’s Office was allegedly focused on protecting its former principal staff officer and current Secretary of Industries and Production, retired Captain Saeed Anjum.
Malick further alleged that an emergency meeting had been convened to remove the Chief Executive Officer of the Engineering Development Board (EDB). According to the journalist, the EDB chief had refused to accept pressure from the secretary regarding what Malick described as a flawed auto policy.
He claimed that the proposed policy could potentially protect private financial interests worth millions of dollars annually. Malick alleged that the EDB chief’s opposition to the policy had resulted in efforts to remove him from his position.
The senior journalist also questioned the government’s priorities, asking whether the prime minister was unable to take action against the senior bureaucrats allegedly supporting the situation or was simply indifferent to the matter.
Referring to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks regarding the country’s “hybrid system,” Malick called for Field Marshal Asim Munir to intervene, arguing that influential figures within the bureaucracy could cause significant damage through their decisions.
The allegations have sparked debate over bureaucratic accountability, transparency in policymaking and the role of government institutions in developing major economic policies, particularly those affecting the automobile sector.
However, the allegations made by Mohammad Malick have not been independently verified. The officials and institutions named in his remarks have not, according to the material available, issued a detailed response to the claims.
