11 more officers’ promotion to BS-22 approved

ISLAMABAD: The High Powered Selection Board (HPSB), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, has approved the promotion of 11 more officers from BS-21 to BS-22.

The approval was granted during a meeting held on Monday, which was attended by key officials including Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Establishment Ahad Khan Cheema, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Secretary Establishment Division Inamullah Khan Dharejo, and Secretary Cabinet Division Kamran Ali Afzal.

According to a statement, issued by the Establishment Division, among the 11 officers promoted to grade 22, Ambreen Jan, secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and a member of the Information Group, is one of the notable names.

From the Secretariat Group, the following five officers have been promoted to grade 22: Zahoor Ahmed, additional secretary at the Inter-Provincial Coordination Division; Dr Nawaz Ahmed, additional secretary at the Establishment Division; Ayesha Humaira Chaudhry, additional secretary at the Climate Change Ministry; Hammad Shamimi, additional secretary at the Climate Change ministry; Muhammad Aslam Ghauri, additional secretary at the Finance Division (Military).

In addition, Shahzad Hassan and Syed Muhammad Ammar Naqvi from the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service have been promoted, as well as Samiullah Khan from the Postal Group, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah from Railways, and Dr Imtiaz Ahmed from the Economist Group.

However, the promotion cases for officers from the Inland Revenue Service and Customs Service could not be considered due to a stay order issued by the Islamabad High Court. Currently, seven grade 22 posts at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) remain vacant.

Earlier this year, in the first phase of its meeting on March 5, the High Powered Selection Board had approved promotion of 36 officers from the Pakistan Administrative Service, Police Service, and Foreign Service from grade 21 to grade 22. With the latest approvals, the total number of officers promoted to grade 22 now stands at 47.

Meanwhile, a four-day meeting of the Central Selection Board, set to review the promotion of federal officers to grades 20 and 21, will commence on Tuesday, March 11.

The board will compile its recommendations, which will then be submitted for final approval by the Prime Minister. Following the approval, the Establishment Division will issue notifications regarding the promotion, posting, and transfer of each officer. Around 1,000 officers are expected to be promoted to grades 20 and 21 during the meeting.

The Central Selection Board meeting will be chaired by Federal Public Service Commission Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Akhtar Nawaz Satti. The board members include Senator Sadia Abbasi, Senator Saleem Mandviwala, MNA Javed Hanif Khan, Secretary Finance Imdadullah Bosal from Punjab, grade-22 retired bureaucrat Rabia Javeria Agha from Sindh, Secretary Maritime Affairs Division Zafar Ali Shah from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, grade 22 retired officer Ghiyasuddin from Balochistan, Secretariat Group grade 22 retired officer Pervez Junejo, Secretary Establishment Division Inamullah Khan Dharejo, Secretary Cabinet Division, and all four provincial chief secretaries.