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Thursday March 28, 2024

KP govt seems set to retrench bureaucracy

15 scheduled posts to go back to professionals, special secretary posts likely to be abolished

By Riaz Khan Daudzai
May 06, 2015
PESHAWAR: The provincial government is apparently committed to implementing its plan to retrench the bureaucracy by withdrawing at least 20 high-ranking positions from the schedule of posts and restricting the Provincial Management Service (PMS) group to the secretariat in the province.
The summary wherein the chief minister has approved a sort of restructuring of the provincial bureaucracy has not yet been withdrawn despite the directives of the Law Reforms Committee of the provincial assembly. This information was given to the sub-committee of the Law Reforms Committee on Tuesday.
The approval of the summary by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on March 7 led to heart-burning among the provincial civil service groups such as the PCS Executive, PCS Secretariat and PMS towards the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), previously known as the District Management Group (DMG).The issue was also raised by the opposition on the floor of the provincial assembly the same day and on its insistence it was referred to the assembly’s Law Reforms Committee.
The Law Reforms Committee at its meeting chaired by Speaker provincial assembly Asad Qaisar on April 7 sought explanation from all the concerned quarters, including the associations of the PAS, PCS and PMS officers and Establishment Department. It also formed a sub-committee to further look into the matter and directed the secretary Establishment Department to stop action on the summary.
The provincial civil services group submitted their reply to the committee and termed the distribution of posts under the apportionment formula of 1993 as illegal and unjust. It resented the move to deprive them of field postings.
To discuss this thorny issue which has affected the working of the provincial bureaucracy, the sub-committee on law reforms met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli. Muhammad Arifeen, secretary Law, Amanullah secretary provincial assembly, Alamgir Shah, special secretary Establishment, president PCS-EG Association, Khalid Khan Umarzai, president PCS SG Sajid Jadoon, Fahad Ikram Qazi of the PMS Association and president PAS Association Mushtaq Jadoon also attended the meeting.
It may be recalled that the cabinet of the previous coalition government at its meeting on May 2, 2012 approved the restructuring of the provincial bureaucracy at the district and divisional level in the aftermath of the 18th Amendment. It also approved alterations in schedule of posts and the creation of five positions of special secretary in the departments of Establishment, Higher Education, Local Government and Rural Development, Agriculture and Environment. The previous coalition government also included eight posts of chairman Board Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISEs), director general (DG) of Rescue 1122, chairman Text Book Board, Solicitor Law Department, DG provincial Ombudsman, chairman Health Regulatory Authority (HRA), secretary Workers Welfare Board and chairman Higher Education Regulatory Authority in the schedule of posts.
The provincial government has, however, now decided to abolish the posts of the special secretaries and withdraw the other 15 posts from the schedule of posts and also restrict the posting of the PMS officers to the secretariat. Besides, the other positions will go back to the concerned departments to be replaced by professional and technical people.
The provincial government through its summary (copy available with The News) will also convey to the Establishment Division to consider only Khyber Pakhtunkhwa domiciled PAS officers for promotion and posting on the vacant seats meant for the PAS in the province.
The provincial civil service groups in their reply to the law reforms sub-committee on Tuesday said that following the 18th Amendment the posting of PAS officers to the province was against the Constitution.
Reacting to this argument, the PAS Officers Association President Mushtaq Jadoon said that PAS was an all Pakistan service that ensures national cohesion. He argued that the 18th Amendment had no implication on the status of this central civil service group.
The representative of the Establishment department informed the committee that they would submit detailed reply with regard to the observations of the provincial civil service groups at the next meeting of the committee scheduled to be held pm May 18.
The chairperson of the sub-committee Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli asked the special secretary Establishment to avoid dilatory tactics on such a crucial issue and submit his replay at the earliest.