This info. provides some relief, i really didnt believe tht the system could be so cruel to family life and well-being....Thank you.

plz plz come up with info regarding perks privileges and salary packages for C&T officers?

36th Commoners from Commerce and Trade group would join STP at PITAD Islamabad on 3rd November, 09. The probationers have been directed by the ministry of commerce to get their passports in first leisure as They are being sent to WTO headquarters for 3 weeks attachment almost one month after the joining.

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"You interpret my heart, my nature, as you wish to believe it. In truth, I have no secret longing to be saved from myself." (Eugene Onegin – Alexander Pushkin)

sir wut about visit to Malaysia or Australia?just wondering if all next probationers b going to Geneva or this schedule is different for differnt batches as announced by the ministry?

Well there are certain things to take under consideration. First, we all know C&T is yet an infant group and it is just takin its fist flights. Credit goes to the present DG PITAD, Dr.Safder Sohail who is working dexterously for the better grooming of the Commerce and Trade officers. It is his initiative that the 35th commeners were sent for foreign training for the first time during STP.

The 35th commoners, as we know, were sent to Malaysia as it is considered the hub of great Asian institutes and is taken as rapidly progressing Asian country in economic sphere; and is presented as model for developing economies.

This year, it is in the air that C&T officers MIGHT visit three countries during STP. the others 2 being Australia and Malaysia. yet It is not evident; we wd be better informed on this after joining PITAD.

As for sending the officers to Geneva, WTO headquarteres, this time, the reasons are quite evident as we are to deal with international trade in the presence of WTO regime;I believe, it's a very good opportunity for the officers to understand their work.

When an institution is growing dynamically, we always find a development in its policies and strategies and I think Commerce and Trade group is treading the path at a good pace.

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"You interpret my heart, my nature, as you wish to believe it. In truth, I have no secret longing to be saved from myself." (Eugene Onegin – Alexander Pushkin)

aoa,

someone told me tht there was news in the paper tht ppl from the DMG group were being posted overseas in seats reserved for C&T candidates..how is tht posb.? a month or so back whn ths happened with the foregin service group the all rose up against the horondous act and got it reverted, and yet there is no news from our side...

can seniors plz shed some light on the process where original group members are denied seats in their own group and prefrence is given to other group members.

yes it happened so,,i myself read the news article,,,actually C&T ppl have 50% quota in foreign missions and the news article mentioned that out of 60 seats 30 should go directly to C&T without any competition but 19 were allocated to concerned officers and rest to other groups

Four trade officers abroad: Prime Minister formally approves appointment
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
ISLAMABAD (September 14 2009): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has formally approved the appointment of four trade officers abroad whom he had reportedly recommended in defiance of his own rhetorical exhortation to ministries and departments to make appointments on merit, sources told Business Recorder here on Sunday.

The lucky candidates are: Ayesha Saeed, Shahryar Talpur and Nadia Rehman from the private sector and Fawad Ali Shah from the public sector. Sources said that Shahryar Talpur has been appointed in Santiago (Chile), Nadia Rehman in Prague (Czech Republic), Fawad Ali Shah in Port Louis (Mauritius), and Ayesha Saeed in Brussels (Belgium).

These appointments, according to Commerce Ministry's Commerce and Trade Group, are highly controversial and are likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Commerce and Trade Group has already completed its homework, preparatory to seeking justice from the apex court.

Prime Minister's Secretariat, during the second week of May, wrote a letter to the Commerce Ministry, stating that as the Commerce Ministry begins the selection process for four new locations, the names of the following candidates should be given priority: Ayesha Saeed, Shahryar Talpur, Yasir Ishaque Lashari, and Fauzia Abbasi from the private sector, and Fawad Ali Shah from the public sector.

Sources said the influence of Prime Minister's Secretariat in these appointments can be gauged from the fact that the candidates were given a unique written test, in which only three candidates namely Ayesha Saeed, (Punjab), Shahryar Talpur (Sindh) and Yasir Ishaque Lashari (Sindh) appeared to fill the four posts. Subsequently, all three were declared 'qualified' for the interview, which was conducted on June 24, 2009. To 'mix up' the proceedings, the Ministry of Commerce also invited 13 candidates of BS 18, who had secured more than 70 percent marks in the written test, conducted by LUMS for the fourth post.

However, the Commerce Ministry had to scrap the entire process, following media reports. Pitad (Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development) was asked to conduct another test in July 2009, in which only one candidate, Marwat, was invited, and cleared, for the interview. According to Secretary, Commerce, he was not up to the mark.

Commerce Minister Amin Fahim was the chairman of the selection board; members of the board included Secretary, Foreign Affairs; Secretary, Establishment; Secretary, Commerce; Chief Executive of TDAP (co-opted member); Secretary, Investment (co-opted member); and Secretary, Textile Industry (co-opted member).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2009

'Influential' candidates as 'trade officers': C&TS officers decide to move Supreme Court
TAHIR AMIN
ISLAMABAD (September 04 2009): Sensing that the Prime Minister's Secretariat is bent upon accommodating some 'influential' candidates for the newly created posts of trade officers at Santiago (Chile), Prague (Czech Republic), Port Louis (Mauritius) and Brussels (Belgium), the officers of Commerce and Trade Service (C&TS) have decided to approach the Supreme Court to seek justice in the matter.

Hectic consultations are underway between the officers of Commerce and Trade Service and Foreign Service of Pakistan these days, it is learnt by Business Recorder. It may be recalled that officers of Foreign Service had lodged a case in the Islamabad High Court, now defunct, seeking reversal of the posting of Jahanzeb Khan as Ambassador to France.

The officers of Commerce and Trade Service have constituted a core team to elicit information from the officers of Foreign Service of Pakistan on their writ petition. A couple of lawyers have been approached on the subject. It has also been decided that a writ petition would immediately be filed once the Prime Minister's Secretariat gives nod to the Ministry of Commerce for the posting of these private sector candidates.

Sources revealed that the Prime Minister's Secretariat, during the second week of May 2009, had directed the Ministry of Commerce to give preference to three private sector candidates namely, Ayesha Saeed, Shahryar Talpur and Yasir Ishaque Lashari against the newly created posts. In addition, it was also directed that Fawad Shah should be selected against the fourth seat.

To accommodate these candidates the Ministry of Commerce required to revise the selection procedure. As per the revised selection procedure, the condition of the written test by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums) was waived and the Ministry of Commerce itself was authorised to conduct the written test.

The overall performance of these private sector candidates was 'ordinary' by all standards in the tests conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD), a subsidiary of MoC, a senior official maintained on the condition of anonymity. Ayesha Saeed, (Punjab) secured 72 marks out of 100, while other candidates like Shahryar Talpur (Sindh) got 55, Yasir Ishaque Lashari (Sindh) 51, Mumtaz Khan Marwat secured 50 and Nawaz Jamil (Sindh, R) got 31 marks.

It is relevant to note that 30 public sector candidates had secured more than 70 percent marks in the written test conducted by Lums. As per policy only those securing more than 60 percent marks qualify for interviews, however, as the Ministry of Commerce was under pressure from the PM Secretariat it invited a candidate securing 31 marks for the interview.

SC takes note of 'contentious' appointments
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN Tuesday, 24 Nov, 2009 4:11 am


ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court has taken notice of Prime Minister Secretariat backed 'contentious' appointments of commercial counsellors (three from private sector and one from public sector) over an anonymous application submitted by one of the victims, well-informed sources in Establishment Division told Business Recorder .

The sources said the Secretary Establishment Division and the Secretary Commerce have been directed to submit their reports on or before December 9, 2009 in the Supreme Court. Shahryar Talpur, son of Member National Assembly Nawab Ghani Talpur and nephew of Nawab Yusuf Talpur, Ayesha Saeed, daughter of Senator Gulshan Saeed and Nadia Rehman is the daughter of Khalid Rehman, a close friend of Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar are the three private sector appointees.

Interestingly, Nadia Rehman, whose duty station is said to be Prague, did not even appear in the test conducted by the Commerce Ministry. According to officials, the Commerce Ministry every year selects commercial counsellors in a transparent manner after a test is conducted by Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) for both private and public candidates.

This year the same practice was followed and the candidates were selected along with a waiting list on merit. However, later on four additional seats were created for Prague, Mauritius, Brussels and Chile. Three or four candidates, all from the private sector, were asked to appear for a test which was conducted by a subsidiary of the MoC and not by LUMS.

When media dug out the story, the process was shelved for time being, however, later it was not only revived but also completed. Out of these four vacancies, three were allegedly 'chosen' while one was selected as per procedure by LUMS. The government candidate, Fawad Ali Shah, who is from Customs Group, was not on the original list of successful candidates and the candidates who were on the original merit list were ignored.

The Commerce and Trade Group (C&T Group) is a specialised occupational service of the Government of Pakistan. The officers of this group are imparted specialised training in trade-related disciplines including export marketing, international economics, commercial and corporate law, export procedures, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and international and domestic trade framework, WTO laws and negotiations.

In order to effectively pursue the country's commercial and foreign trade interests, the government has established over 60 commercial offices in various financial capitals of the world. These offices are manned by grade 18, 19 and 20 officers. According to the Ministry of Commerce's notification number 3(9)/92-Admn III dated 16th January 2008, 50 percent of the total posts of Commercial Officers abroad are en-cadred to C&T Group.

However, only 17 of 60 plus posts are currently occupied by the officers of this group while the rest have been distributed among the officers belonging to other service groups and even ex- and non-cadre individuals, some with no relevant academic background or prior experience. C&T Group, sources said, in a recent meeting with Secretary Commerce Suleman Ghani, complained that they are being given discriminatory treatment.