Over 53 senior officers sidelined as OSDs

ISLAMABAD: As many as 53 senior high-ranking government officers who held key positions in the previous regime were dumped into the ineffective pool as officers on special duty (OSDs). Some of them have remained OSDs since the start of 2020 for numerous reasons.

Their services were put on hold for an indefinite time period and they were not given any assignment. According to official figures obtained exclusively by the Geo News, as many as 20 officers from the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), 13 officers from Secretariat Group (SG), seven civil servants from Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), 14 officers from Office Management Group (OMG) and some others from other cadres have been denied any posting.

Known officers serving as OSDs are Mohsin Hassan Butt (PSP), Capt (retd) Usman Zakaria (PSP), Abdul Jabbar (PSP), Capt (retd) Ghulam Murtaza (PSP), Zafar Iqbal (PAS), Nasheeta Maryam Mohsin (PAS), Lubna Said (PAS), Zarak Mirza (PAS), Arshad Farooq (SG), Shabnam Amir Khan (SG), Mir Afzal Khan (SG), Arshad Ali Chaudhry (SG), Usman Yaqub Khan (SG), Waqar Ali Khan (SG) and Amjad Kayani (SG).

Majority of them enjoyed important postings in the previous regime, official data exclusively obtained from the Establishment Division (ED) reveals. These OSDs are awaiting for their postings. Around a half a dozen OSDs, the Geo News spoke to, said the ongoing discrimination in bureaucracy is forcing them to think they are victims of political considerations. However, Secretary ED Afzal Latif rejected the allegation.

"There must be a reason when the services of an officer are put on hold," he told this correspondent. "We are reviewing the policy too," he said and added, "Some of these OSDs are on long leave or are about to take a new role."

However, according to the Establishment Division list, 100 posts are lying vacant in the top bureaucracy. According to its record, around two dozen officers are holding dual charge for the last several months in different departments in the federal capital. Nearly four dozen officers are facing different departmental inquiries, but their majority continues to serve on key posts.

The ED source refused providing “information regarding their names and charges as it is covered under section 7(c) of RAI Act, 2017.”