5 officials awarded

Islamabad : In a ceremony attended by diplomats, senior civil servants, representatives of civil society, the media, and youth from academia, five civil servants were decorated with awards in recognition of their work, integrity, and improving service delivery in their respective departments.

Dr Vivek Anad, district surveillance officer, Health Department, Kashmore, Sindh; Omer Saeed, city police officer (CPO), Faisalabad; Ghulam Ali Mallah, CEO/secretary, Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC), Islamabad; Samina Altaf, chairperson, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Kohat; Dr. Shair Zaman, endocrinologist, Bolan Medical Hospital, Quetta. The Integrity Icon is an annual campaign to celebrate the most honest and hardworking government employees from all over the country.

The Integrity Icon campaign has completed seven years in Pakistan, and this time the campaign received more than 100 entries from across the country, which were examined by a jury comprised of the most capable and credible professionals from the civil service, academia, and civil society. Every year, five icons are honoured and celebrated for their public service spirit and honest work. The ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Jakob Linulf, said that for a nation to lessen corruption, honesty must be internalised by a majority of its citizens.

“This can be inflected by changes to laws, wealth, democracy, economic freedom, appreciation of diversity, and stability,” he said. He said a high sense of public accountability produces good governance and strengthens trust and openness among people. “I appreciate initiatives like the Integrity Icon Award that encourage honest officials in Pakistan to engage in constructive and transparent ways.”

The ceremony’s chief guest, Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to the President of Pakistan, asked what else could be the greatest satisfaction when you are responsible to serve the citizens and citizens feel satisfied that you are always there to bring some kind of hope, relief, justice, or equality into their lives. Speaking on the occasion, Ali Imran, chairman of Accountability Lab, said that “the values of leadership (honesty, humility, curiosity, collaboration, and innovation) are universal, and if we can connect these values to the ultimate goal for the existence of public service, civil servants will become more effective and capable of readily creating solutions to address the public’s grievances, leading to more public trust in state institutions.”

Dr. Adnan Rafiq, a member of the Pakistan reforms planning commission’s governance and innovation commission, stated that “supporting, highlighting, and celebrating the people who not only worked with the best of social traits but also inspired others is an important thing to do.” Executive Director of Accountability Lab Global Pakistan Blair Glencorse stated that Integrity Icons started as a small campaign and is now a global campaign that has helped citizens in 13 countries know about the wonderful work their civil servants are doing.