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New Sindh police chief
[B]New Sindh police chief[/B]
KARACHI, March 5: The Karachi police chief, Fayyaz Ahmed Leghari, has been posted as the new Provincial Police Officer, Sindh, with immediate effect and till further orders. A notification issued by the establishment division stated that Mr Leghari, a BS-21 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan who is currently serving in Sindh, is posted as the Sindh police chief in his own pay and scale with immediate effect and until further orders. The new PPO was appointed in place of Salahuddin Babar Khattak — a superannuated officer re-employed for a second time as Sindh police chief on a contract basis — who was shown the door last month by the government to comply with a directive of the Supreme Court. Mr Leghari was appointed the Capital City Police Officer, Karachi, in September last year in place of the then CCPO Waseem Ahmed, who was given the prized posting of director general of the Federal Investigation Agency. Source: [url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/06/new-sindh-police-chief.html]New Sindh police chief | Newspaper | DAWN.COM[/url] |
Age relaxaion for CSS Exams part 2: One step forward, two steps backward – by Shamoon
[B]Age relaxaion for CSS Exams part 2: One step forward, two steps backward – by Shamoon Qureshi[/B]
Salus Populi Suprema lex- CSS 2012 Age Relaxation CSS Age Relaxation issue has been highlighted and strongly demanded by all the quarters of serious aspirants but government is standing unfazed by its audacious decision passed back in 2008. This article is also the manifestation of strongest demand of people, which is indeed gaining momentum. This is the continuum of my previous article. The population of Pakistan is roughly about 180,000,000, following is the historical trend which shows the rise of urban population since the country’s creation. It means that Pakistan is going to transit from agro economy to industrial economy (unfortunately shrinking economy). [B]Historical Populations[/B] [B]Census.............Population................Urban[/B] 1951 .................33,816,000................17.80% 1961 .................42,978,000 ................22.46% 1972 .................65,321,000................ 25.40% 1981 .................84,254,000............... 28.28% 1998 .................130,580,000.............. 32.51% 2008 .................172,800,000.............. 32.34% However, according to the 2009 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),60.3% of Pakistanis live on less than $2 a day. The World Bank Report 2010 for second fiscal mentions that 3.4 million more people will go below poverty level in Pakistan. The prices for basic commodities have also inflated manyfolds. It means, for students, that one has to drop one’s education for good(bad) to render the support to ailing household economy. Another option for them is that to discontinue the education temporarily and earn the tuition fee while supporting the family. For this purpose one has to afford the academic gaps and late completion of education. If one does so, one goes beyond the prescribed age limit for CSS and government’s set rules blocks one’s entry to even appear in CSS exam and serve one’s own country in the capacity he/she deserves. How ironic!!! Now cast a glimpse at the literacy rate in Pakistan: definition: aged 10 and over and can read and write Total population: 57% Male: 69% Female: 45% (2009 est.) If you go to HEC website, only 132 degree awarding institutes are there in the Land of Pure which are registered, let alone their capacity to cater the need of education to the masses. Let alone the dwindling financial powers of masses to afford higher education, with rocketing sky high inflation and transcending poverty level, at the cost of their household budget. The dilemma goes on and on, and whole cabinet had orchestrated the music which made our PM harp on the same tunes of NO REFORMS, NO ADVACEMENT. Above statistics of literacy make us think that the figures depicted in it would represent mostly under-grads or less even many with no formal education certificate/degree because we don’t have infrastructure to educate 57% of 180,000,000 people in universities or degree awarding colleges. It is proven; remember fake degree holders in assemblies through 2008 election, 342 seats in national assembly couldn’t be filled out by all geniune degree holders some were fake degree holder legislator. There are some brave people who somehow managed to get higher education by fits and starts, by leaps and bounds and by sheer will of theirs to get better themselves and their families are prohibited to even take the competitive exam to serve their country because of their ‘age’!!!! As state of the Pakistani politics is well evident that no educated person wants to get involved himself/herself that is why most parties found dearth of educated people in their lines, therefore, they fielded fake degree holders in their constituencies. Apart of it, Pakistan is not a welfare state where there is free education for all, free meal for all, free health facilities for all, free of security issues and government would take care people’s all basic needs. We live in a third world country where we have to pay the tax for the most basic necessity to live, Water, tax for daily consumption. In an article published in Daily Dawn dated 24-02-2011 (by Asghar Soomro) with the title ‘Why short term remedies’, he referred a report published by a Lahore based NGO which I feel like to share: It is pertinent to refer here to a Lahore-based NGO’s Annual Status of Education Report Pakistan 2010. The report indicates a higher rate (25.3) of tuition for students of private schools as compared to those in government schools (9.7 per cent). Private schools tend to fleece parents under one pretext or another. At the time of the final decision regarding the future of those schools one hopes all these factors are taken into consideration and parents are not left to the mercy of the entrepreneurs. The dictator Gen (R) Pervez Musharraf who tampered with the civil services rules, may be in good faith, confessed in an interview with Jasmine aired by Samma TV that he failed to bring about reforms which he intended to. He particularly mentioned his failure to devolve power to grass root level and couldn’t fully cooked the recipe to the taste of general public. Hence his reforms turned out to be the half backed cake that is why government is reverting back to old commissioner system. Government argues that the Local body system has miserably failed to deliver as to what it was deemed in the past, consequently lot of troubles followed e.g. one of the biggest is profiteering at the grass root level. There are also some other administrative issues circumscribing this system. If the architect of this system himself confessing that it is now a half baked cake then why to cling with this piece of raw commodity. It is requested to either transit wholly or scrub its vestiges out of the country. If the system is being reverted back to old style then all scheme has to be restructured. Many times FPSC has tried to draw the government’s attention towards the deteriorating state of education system which is portrayed in all FPSC’s, KPPSC’s and other boards’ annual reports but all ranting, raving and lamenting have fallen on government’s deaf ears. It is hard to make people understand the benefits of reform when their benefits are associated with not understanding and sticking to their rot. All the time FPSC chairman called on the President and Prime Minister and told about the lack of interest and capability of general public towards the civil services but their meeting can be summarized as ‘they met, wept and left’, no result at all. HEC is trying to make our higher education system abreast with international education system but our requirements are that of primitive type. Listen to US president’s first speech to State of the Union in which he announced the waiver of education loan to 50% if the borrower joins public service. And here in our land of pure people are restricted to even take the exam to prove their competency. Our Prime Minister wants young people to run the state affairs while allowing the oldies to stay in their office even after retirement by bestowing on them extended contracts. The pretext behind their extension is the dearth of mature and capable people required to run the sophisticated and strategic positions. All aspirants request Prime Minister and President of Pakistan to please consider candidates demand and decide in favor of the will of public- Please FPSC, PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER ENHANCE AGE AND ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION CRITERIA; 16 YEARS OF EDUCATION AND 35 YEARS OF GENERAL AGE RELAXATION. Source: [url=http://criticalppp.com/archives/41980]Age relaxaion for CSS Exams part 2: One step forward, two steps backward ? by Shamoon Qureshi*|*Let Us Build Pakistan[/url] |
Punjab government kicks into high gear
[B]Punjab government kicks into high gear
[/B] LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to bring back the assistant commissioner (AC) (BPS-17) through an amendment in the local government law. As many as 17 bills will be tabled in the session of the Punjab Assembly starting on March 11. In a meeting chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, the cabinet approved drafts of 17 amendment bills regarding the Punjab Government Rules of Business-2011 and running of the affairs of the Local Government, Information, Culture & Youth Affairs, Revenue, Labour, Health, Law and Social Welfare departments, recently transferred to the provinces in the wake of the 18th constitutional amendment. General Pervez Musharraf had curtailed the magisterial powers of the ACs in 2001 and re-introduced the post with the new moniker of deputy district officer (DDO) (Revenue). Earlier, ACs had also been the collector in the tehsil where they exercised all revenue powers as well as need of administration. The DDO (Revenue) only enjoyed revenue powers and was not responsible for law and order. Shahbaz Sharif in 2009 had re-introduced the slot of commissioner by amending the Land Revenue Act. However, after the 18th amendment, local government had become a provincial chapter and the CM has again introduced ACs instead of DDO (Revenue). A few months ago, the CM had abolished 560 different posts including the DDOs (Revenue). The chief minister also issued instructions for setting up a cabinet committee for the strict implementation of minimum wages law in the light of the orders of the Supreme Court. It was decided that provincial secretaries will pay regular visits to districts in order to solve people’s problems besides improving the efficiency of their departments along with monitoring the performance of their officers. Expressing his displeasure over the performance of executive district officers for education and health, the CM said that an army of such officers had failed to bring improvement in these sectors. He said the failure to start classes was proof of the unsatisfactory performance of these officers in spite of the availability of teachers and school buildings. He said that ministers, advisors and secretaries had been assigned the responsibility to monitor arrangements at examination centres for matriculation examinations and he will also visit these centres for this purpose. The CM further said that implementation of the law regarding minimum wages was a responsibility of the government and a cabinet committee headed by Senior Advisor Sirdar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa was being set up which will soon present its recommendations on this. The chief minister congratulated the cabinet committee set up for the amendment in the rules of various departments in the wake of the 18th amendment for completing the job. Source: [url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/129783/punjab-government-kicks-into-high-gear/]Punjab government kicks into high gear – The Express Tribune[/url] |
Fahim’s daughter’s appointment likely to be challenged
[B]Fahim’s daughter’s appointment likely to be challenged[/B]
LONDON - With the Supreme Court following zero tolerance policy towards violation of rules and regulation, officers of the Foreign Office have decided to approach the SC over the direct induction of Federal Minister for Commerce Amin Fahim’s daughter in the Foreign Service of Pakistan, sources told Pakistan Today. Fahim’s daughter, Maliha Amin, was appointed first secretary in Pakistan Embassy Dublin, Ireland in 2009 on the special instructions of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Maliha, with a simple masters degree and no experience of international affairs and diplomacy was appointed by Gilani to appease her father, who at that time was annoyed with the party’s top leadership after being ignored for the post of the prime minister. A senior official of the Foreign Office in London said Maliha’s case was unique as politicians and former military officers have been appointed ambassadors to serve Pakistan abroad but it was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a private individual was appointed first secretary in the Foreign Service of Pakistan without going through the CSS examination. Encouraged by the SC’s recent decisions regarding contractual appointments and violation of merit, officers of the Foreign Service of Pakistan have decided to challenge Maliha’s appointment. Source: [url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/pakistan-news/National/09-Mar-2011/Fahims-daughters-appointment-likely-to-be-challenged]Fahim’s daughter’s appointment likely to be challenged | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online[/url] |
Literati in civil service
[B]Literati in civil service[/B]
I HAVE just finished reading a voluminous book, A Treatise on the Civil Service of Pakistan: The Structural-Functional History (1601-2011). This book is an analytical study of the institution of civil services in the subcontinent. What is more amazing is that this mammoth research work has been conducted solely by author Kiran Khurshid, a young DMG officer of 34th Common Training Programme, 2005. According to the author’s profile, she also authored A Gazetteer by the Native and compiled A Catalogue of Revenue Estates in Sadar tehsil, Faisalabad, with site maps. She, therefore, deserves kudos for sparing some time for research work and writing. For some reasons, the bureaucracy is the most misunderstood institution in Pakistan and is usually portrayed as arrogant, unfriendly and inaccessible to the hoi polloi. However, after reading the book, I feel that 96 Muslim ICS officers who opted for Pakistan in 1947 were quite energetic, capable and professional who worked hard to run the affairs of the nascent state of Pakistan and set up different institutions. However, the successive political imbroglios resulted in general decay and incongruity, and the CSPs cannot be blamed alone. Professional civil servants are considered a national asset the world over and they are trained to exhibit full potential in public service. As the DMG mostly deals with the public and no governance efforts could be materialised without the officers’ involvement, they, therefore, should be given a conducive environment to act according to the law and no political infringement should hinder their lawful work. It is a good sign that our civil servants are also turning to research writing. It reminds me of the legacy of the giants of the legendary ICS who earned a niche in different fields because of their hard work, dedication and intellect. Today’s civil servants should also follow such seniors because, I believe, a civil service is not a routine career but a lifetime opportunity to serve the people and the motherland with dedication. This is the only lesson our new entrants need to learn. QUDRAT ULLAH Lahore Cantt Source: [url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/12/literati-in-civil-service.html]Literati in civil service | Newspaper | DAWN.COM[/url] |
[LEFT][B]Young bureaucrats in the making.
BY ALI BARAAN[/B][/LEFT] “Have you read Syed Saadat’s piece?” asked a probationary officer with gusto. “No I haven’t. Why?” I replied. “It’s about us. They are talking about us – about our meager salaries”, replied the officer. The word spread in the Civil Services Academy and everybody was reading or sharing the piece. Syed Saadat, a young bureaucrat, talked about corruption and how the civil servants are left with no other option if they want to support their families. The tone was sarcastic and bitter filled with cynicism – the article was something that not just the young officers in the academy could relate to, but so could the senior officers in the field. Then Syed Anwar Mehmood came out with his own plea about the salary structure of the civil servants. For the days to come in the academy, it seemed as if the poor salary structure was the only ill afflicting the once prestigious institution of the country. The lush green grounds and the gnarled trees of the Civil Services Academy have seen many bureaucrats in the making since 1973 belonging to different occupational groups. The argument that the civil service has lost the ability to attract the brightest minds of the country does not hold true. One, the claim that the profession once hosted the brightest and the wisest is itself debatable. Second, although the prestige of civil service has declined over the years yet there are still examples of doctors and engineers, and other professionals, who forgo other opportunities and scholarships to join the service. There is a lady officer who was selected on a Rhodes Scholarship but chose to join the civil service this year. She certainly knew what she was getting into. Same goes for other officers who consciously made a decision to join the service. I agree, salary is a very important issue concerning the civil servants, especially when they compare themselves with graduates of top universities working in the private sector. Here, I would also like to mention that the notion that graduates of LUMS and NUST, or other universities, getting paid high starting salaries (around 40,000-60,000) is largely exaggerated. This may be an exception with a very few graduates but it certainly is not the general practice these days. Low salary structure, even though an issue, certainly does not highlight the fundamental ills of the service. By constantly talking about the declining prestige of the civil service, we are not talking about the real issues. The status and esteem of the institution was destined to evolve as it shifted, rather languidly from its colonial legacy. The real debate is not whether the service has the same esteem in the country or not, but it is whether it has succeeded in delivering on its main functions. And if it hasn’t, then is the poor salary structure holding the officers back from working diligently? Most of the corruption that takes place in the service results after this rationalisation where the system is blamed first and foremost for not taking ‘adequate care’ of them. Let’s talk facts. The fact is many officers are in different occupational groups not because they opted for it or due to their aptitude, but because they scored lower than others in some subject and fell at a certain place on the merit list. The fact is there is a serious crisis of capacity in the service as well. The gap between capacity of the service to discharge its duties and the enormity of issues is widening persistently. It has less to do with the declining ‘prestige’ of the civil service and more to do with the stagnant capacity of civil services and plethora of issues. The civil service has failed to evolve with time and was thus unsuccessful in responding to increasing challenges. The recent reforms in a few areas, though steps in positive direction, may prove too little too late. Increase in salaries can always only be one small step in attracting more people to the service but it can never guarantee improvement in services. For that we will have to think on other lines. Ali Baraan is a critic. Source [URL="http://blog.dawn.com/2011/03/30/young-bureaucrats-in-the-making/"]Young bureaucrats in the making[/URL] |
What about the DMG?
[B]What about the DMG?[/B]
In the haze of the 18th Amendment’s implementation, and the hullabaloo over the Higher Education Commission, some important things are entirely missing from the national discourse. Many advocates of a federal system of governance in Pakistan are propagating a post-18th Amendment scenario in which there will be lots of loose ends, and no one to tie them together. Others are arguing that an absence of capacity in the provinces is reason enough to deny provinces the autonomy to decide the best course of action for their future. We have good reason to be deeply suspicious of centralist arguments. Centralism has failed utterly, and comprehensively, to deliver anything to the people of Pakistan. But the answer to the problems created by the military’s obsession with centralised power is not provincialism and the linguistic and ethnic divisiveness it depends on. Cheap, convenient and politically flammable provincialism cannot solve Pakistan’s problem, any more than cheap jingoistic centralism can. The founding fathers of Pakistan and the framers of Pakistan’s constitution knew better. They proposed a federal structure because federal governance has roots, not only in the Indian sub-continent’s long history of governing diverse populations, but also in early Muslim history. The idea of federalism is simple, and flexible. At its basics, it is a form of government that allows separate sub-national units, like provinces, to come together under the umbrella of a central government. These constituent units then cede some functions and autonomy to the centre, and in response, are given guarantees by the centre. A typical federal structure allows the highest level of policy and decision-making, like defense and foreign policy to be done by central governments, whilst retaining most aspects of governance that have a direct link with the people. Belonging to the federation frees the energy and resources of constituent units to focus on the things that really matter – like police, schools, roads and water. Pakistan has rarely had the chance to be governed as a federation. There are two kinds of resources that governments value – financial and human. For Pakistan to be a true federation, it has to demonstrate that provinces control enough money and people to do their jobs and to do them well. The seventh National Finance Commission (NFC), agreed in December 2009, and announced in 2010 goes some way to address the money part of the problem. Provinces have been ceding financial autonomy to the centre, have been providing the centre with revenue, and have watched the centre take more, and more, and more, every year. In fact, until the rather revolutionary NFC award of 2010, the central government in Islamabad had slyly manipulated the federal share, from 20 percent of the divisible pool in 1974 to as high as 67.5 percent under the interim government for which Shahid Javed Burki was finance minister (in 1996). Notwithstanding the addition of new taxes in the divisible pool, the diminishing provincial share in the Pakistani state’s wealth is the most powerful proof of the military’s vigourous centralist appetite. True federalists would be right to celebrate the seventh NFC award as a victory, but they need to be weary of how small this victory really is. The original 1:4 formula, with provinces allowing the centre 20 percent of national revenue, whilst they spend 80 percent, the federal character may serve as one benchmark. The logic for this would be that it would return Pakistan’s federal system to the vision of the framers of the constitution. Other formulae may work, but not without compelling logic that vests itself within the concept of federalism. Of course, quarelling over money is not new or unique to Pakistan. It is also not rocket science. Even if Pakistan were to discover and implement the perfect fiscal autonomy for provinces, it would be an incomplete and flawed federation. The real prize for true federalists in Pakistan is not the scalp of the HEC, nor the Ministry of Health. The real prize is the All Pakistan Unified Grades. Figuring out how to fix Pakistan’s powerful, dysfunctional and super-entitled centralised civil service edifice is the holy grail of Pakistani federalism. The All Pakistan Unified Grades, is the group of three federal civil service occupational groups – the DMG, the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) and the Secretariat Group (SG) – that have a cross-country jurisdiction and mandate. In principle, there is nothing wrong with having an APUG, in fact, an APUG is indispensible for a good, functional federation. However, a majority of civil servants that are members of the APUG – mostly the DMG and PSP, do not work for the federal government. They work for provincial governments. What is particularly important to remember about the APUG is that it is made up of officers only (that is those civil servants who belong to BSP 17 and above). These cohorts of senior officers of the government of Pakistan – from BPS 17 to BPS 22 – make and implement public policy every day. Even more important is the share of jobs in the provincial governments that are reserved for the APUG. In 1992, an Inter-Provincial Cabinet Coordination Committee decision stipulated that there will be fixed percentages of posts for the APUG, by grade, in the provinces. What’s more, this reservation progressively increases the share of APUG civil servants, at the expense of provincial civil servants. At BPS 17, only 25 percent of provincial positions are reserved for APUG, but for BPS 18, BPS 19, BPS 20 and BPS 21, the shares are 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent and 65 percent respectively. In this kind of a context, provinces can have all the autonomy they like. They can also take all of the money from the divisible pool that they like. But the men and women through whose steady hands provinces expect service delivery, essentially, are all federal resources. Their qibla can never be Karachi, Lahore, Quetta or Peshawar. Their qibla is the Establishment Division of the Federal Government. So why has there be no discussion of the reform of the civil services? Because of all the interest groups, all the rent-seekers and all the charlatans this great country gives sanctuary and succour to, none have it as good as the elite senior civil servants of the PSP, the Secretariat Group and especially, the DMG. Good and honest civil servants suffer as badly as the citizens of this country, while smooth-talking charlatans enable their political bosses to suck the life out of Pakistan’s fiscal and administrative viability. These senior officers, mostly BPS 21 and BPS 22 are the ones that occupy the boards of publically owned companies like PIA. They are the ones who prevent reform, and reformation within Pakistan’s cancerous public administrative system. Most importantly, they have been the enablers of military interventions from the very first one this nation was cursed with. No serious discussion of a truly federal future for Pakistan can be conducted in the absence of a discussion of how Pakistan’s civil services will be reformed to tackle post 18th-Amendment public policy challenges. The writer advises governments, donors and NGOs on public policy. [url=http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com]Mosharraf Zaidi[/url] Source: [url=http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=42570&Cat=9&dt=4/19/2011]What about the DMG?[/url] |
[B][SIZE="3"]Language training farce at Foreign Office[/SIZE][/B]
[B]By Baqir Sajjad Syed 30th of June, 2011.[/B] ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office is clearly lost in translation.Every year, it imparts foreign language training, essential for effective diplomacy, to about 20 young diplomats but then forgets to post the trained officers in regions where that language is spoken. Instead they are sent to places where their language may even be irrelevant. The result is not only loss of millions spent on the language training of those officers, but the country also loses an opportunity to properly understand what is being said around the globe and express its position on issues critical to it. Let’s take a quick survey of the latest posting plan for third secretaries to get an idea of the confusion that is prevalent. Afaq Ahmed, currently assistant director on Kashmir desk, had been trained in French language in addition to training at the United Nations in multilateral diplomacy. He has been posted to Colombo. There were vacant positions both in Paris and Nairobi, Kenya, (a multilateral station). The Paris position, which was for a third secretary, was instead upgraded to accommodate Dr Ijaz, presently director personnel, as counsellor. The personnel directorate is interestingly charged with working out both overseas and headquarters postings. Besides Mr Ahmed, another officer trained in French language Amir Saeed, presently assistant director at the spokesperson’s office, was also available for posting in France. Meanwhile, the Kenya slot went to Ahsan Mumtaz, an ex-cadre officer, who had no language or multilateral training and hasn’t served at a political desk in the Foreign Office. This is Mr Mumtaz’s second overseas posting, having previously served at Mauritius, something unusual for ex-cadre officers, who get only one foreign assignment. Be it ambassadorial postings or officer level assignments, those serving in the personnel directorate, always get their way. Ali Haider Altaf, another director in the personnel directorate, has been posted to Berlin again on a position that had to be upgraded for him. Mr Altaf, whose previous overseas assignment was in Brazil, has been trained in Japanese language. But a young officer Muhammad Shakeb, now serving on South East Asia and Pacific desk as an assistant director and who had received training in German language, would go to Kazakhstan. How German language would help Mr Shakeb in Kazakhstan or how Mr Altaf would overcome the German handicap while in Berlin is something for the personnel directorate and FO bosses to explain. In yet another example, Shah Nazar Afridi, trained in Arabic, would serve in Kathmandu. While most of the young officers are being sent to lesser stations, intriguingly ex-cadre officers are getting more important capitals. Just like Mr Mumtaz, posted to Kenya — an important African posting — another ex-cadre officer Nadeem Bhatti has been posted to Tokyo. It appears as if the Foreign Office pays no attention to language skills and the purpose they can serve. Locally hired staff in missions abroad no doubt provide valuable backup, but are no substitute for Pakistanis who could communicate in local language. Furthermore, by not having diplomats who could speak local language, gives impression to the hosts that we don’t take them seriously. Therefore, clearly the problem is not with the policy. The problem is rather the way the FO handles the human resources, which has been indisputably the most inefficiently handled of the departments at the FO. Ballpark figure of the amount the Foreign Office spends on one-year language training of a young diplomat is Rs2 million to Rs2.5 million, which includes a monthly allowance of $1,700, an equal amount as rent ceiling for residential accommodation, course fee and travel expenditures. The choice of language for training from a basket of about 10 languages is voluntary. The world over foreign language training for diplomats is given pursuant to overseas assignments, which means they cannot get a foreign language training course until they are actually assigned to a language-designated job overseas. Expecting someone to maintain their skills in a foreign language after at least five years — a three year stint at an unrelated station and a subsequent posting at the headquarters — is probably asking them a lot. But at FO, where merit matters the least and patronage is the only route to prized postings, such a debate looks whimsical. To prove how patronage is important for an officer’s career, just remember a recently posted officer, who had not been allowed to join mission at the UN by the permanent representative because of attitude problems. But he was accommodated in Washington by creating an additional position. |
[B][SIZE="3"]Language training farce at Foreign Office[/SIZE][/B]
[B]By Baqir Sajjad Syed 30th of June, 2011.[/B] ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office is clearly lost in translation.Every year, it imparts foreign language training, essential for effective diplomacy, to about 20 young diplomats but then forgets to post the trained officers in regions where that language is spoken. Instead they are sent to places where their language may even be irrelevant. The result is not only loss of millions spent on the language training of those officers, but the country also loses an opportunity to properly understand what is being said around the globe and express its position on issues critical to it. Let’s take a quick survey of the latest posting plan for third secretaries to get an idea of the confusion that is prevalent. Afaq Ahmed, currently assistant director on Kashmir desk, had been trained in French language in addition to training at the United Nations in multilateral diplomacy. He has been posted to Colombo. There were vacant positions both in Paris and Nairobi, Kenya, (a multilateral station). The Paris position, which was for a third secretary, was instead upgraded to accommodate Dr Ijaz, presently director personnel, as counsellor. The personnel directorate is interestingly charged with working out both overseas and headquarters postings. Besides Mr Ahmed, another officer trained in French language Amir Saeed, presently assistant director at the spokesperson’s office, was also available for posting in France. Meanwhile, the Kenya slot went to Ahsan Mumtaz, an ex-cadre officer, who had no language or multilateral training and hasn’t served at a political desk in the Foreign Office. This is Mr Mumtaz’s second overseas posting, having previously served at Mauritius, something unusual for ex-cadre officers, who get only one foreign assignment. Be it ambassadorial postings or officer level assignments, those serving in the personnel directorate, always get their way. Ali Haider Altaf, another director in the personnel directorate, has been posted to Berlin again on a position that had to be upgraded for him. Mr Altaf, whose previous overseas assignment was in Brazil, has been trained in Japanese language. But a young officer Muhammad Shakeb, now serving on South East Asia and Pacific desk as an assistant director and who had received training in German language, would go to Kazakhstan. How German language would help Mr Shakeb in Kazakhstan or how Mr Altaf would overcome the German handicap while in Berlin is something for the personnel directorate and FO bosses to explain. In yet another example, Shah Nazar Afridi, trained in Arabic, would serve in Kathmandu. While most of the young officers are being sent to lesser stations, intriguingly ex-cadre officers are getting more important capitals. Just like Mr Mumtaz, posted to Kenya — an important African posting — another ex-cadre officer Nadeem Bhatti has been posted to Tokyo. It appears as if the Foreign Office pays no attention to language skills and the purpose they can serve. Locally hired staff in missions abroad no doubt provide valuable backup, but are no substitute for Pakistanis who could communicate in local language. Furthermore, by not having diplomats who could speak local language, gives impression to the hosts that we don’t take them seriously. Therefore, clearly the problem is not with the policy. The problem is rather the way the FO handles the human resources, which has been indisputably the most inefficiently handled of the departments at the FO. Ballpark figure of the amount the Foreign Office spends on one-year language training of a young diplomat is Rs2 million to Rs2.5 million, which includes a monthly allowance of $1,700, an equal amount as rent ceiling for residential accommodation, course fee and travel expenditures. The choice of language for training from a basket of about 10 languages is voluntary. The world over foreign language training for diplomats is given pursuant to overseas assignments, which means they cannot get a foreign language training course until they are actually assigned to a language-designated job overseas. Expecting someone to maintain their skills in a foreign language after at least five years — a three year stint at an unrelated station and a subsequent posting at the headquarters — is probably asking them a lot. But at FO, where merit matters the least and patronage is the only route to prized postings, such a debate looks whimsical. To prove how patronage is important for an officer’s career, just remember a recently posted officer, who had not been allowed to join mission at the UN by the permanent representative because of attitude problems. But he was accommodated in Washington by creating an additional position. |
[B]Planning wizard V.A. Jafarey passes away[/B]
KARACHI, June 29: V.A. Jafarey, who died in Karachi on Tuesday, was one of the first entrants in Pakistan’s administrative service recruited through a merit-based competitive system a year after independence. Like most others then joining the front-ranking Civil Service of Pakistan or CSP (later split into three vocational groups by Z.A. Bhutto), he started his career as deputy commissioner of Montgomery (now Sahiwal). Unimpressed by the authority, glamour and perks of the post, he soon shifted to the drab secretariat corridors not to leave for the remaining 35 years of his service. In course of time he emerged as the country’s leading planning and finance specialist. Very few had the distinction of rising to the top in both fields. He became governor of the State Bank, deputy chairman of the planning commission and secretary general of the ministry of finance. In between he also served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the European Union at Brussels. After retirement he had two short stints as adviser to prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Advising politicians was not his forte. That was to be hardly a befitting denouement for an illustrious professional career. Mr Jafarey will be remembered as a civil servant of high calibre who was always modest and ready to help his junior colleagues. Pakistan’s public service even in its heyday did not produce many civil servants in the image of VA – as he was affectionately known. Now that the administration and economy both are required to serve political ends, the chances are even bleaker. The talented youth are increasingly joining the private sector and independent professions or emigrating for better prospects and security. The death of Mr Jafarey and depleting cadres of the two generations of civil servants he spanned should awaken the political leaders to the absurdity and hazards of their policy of arbitrary nominations, promotions and dismissals. Earlier they revert to the rule of law and merit better it would be for them and for the country. |
[B][SIZE="2"]Change in interior ministry hot spot[/SIZE][/B]
ISLAMABAD, June 30: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appointed Khawaja Mohammad Siddique Akbar as interior secretary on Thursday in place of Maj (retd) Qamar Zaman who was transferred to the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions. Mr Akbar, a district management group officer, was working as secretary of the now devolved Ministry of Minorities’ Affairs. States and Frontier Regions Secretary Habibullah Khattak has been posted as chairman of the Pakistan Tobacco Board in Peshawar. According to sources in the establishment division, the change of the interior secretary is an important development at a time when the government is embroiled in several issues like the National Investment Corporation scam, killing of a youth by Rangers in Sindh and the Kharotabad incident. The interior secretary will have a role in all these cases. He will also provide secretarial support to the Abbottabad judicial inquiry commission. The sources said Mr Zaman did not have a good working relationship with Interior Minister Rehman Malik who had criticised his conduct. In December 2009, the prime minister suspended Mr Zaman after Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar was barred from boarding a flight to China by FIA officials. The minister was told that his name was on the Exit Control List (ECL) following the Supreme Court’s verdict against the National Reconciliation Ordinance. Later, an inquiry proved that Mr Zaman had no role in the action and his suspension was revoked. |
Poor performance of Sindh in CSS
[IMG]http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j374/madeel206/CSSSindh.gif[/IMG]
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Sindh to revive commissionerate system
[SIZE="4"][COLOR="Navy"][B]Sindh to revive commissionerate system
[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] [I]News Desk Saturday, July 09, 2011[/I] ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday allowed the provincial government to urgently revive the commissionerate system in Sindh and make suitable amendments in the law relating to the local government system to make the local administration more responsive to the emerging challenges of law and order in the city and province. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting held at the Presidency on Friday, jointly chaired by President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, to review the alarming law and order situation in Karachi. The revival of the commissionerate system in Karachi was a bone of contention between the PPP and now that the MQM has left the coalition, the government has decided to revive the system. But, at the same time, the government has left the door of reconciliation with the MQM ajar by deciding to appoint Manzoor Wasan as Home Minister Sindh in place of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza. Dr Mirza will now look after the department of services and works. The Sindh government will issue a notification in this regard today (Saturday). Both Manzoor Wasan and Dr Zulfiqar Mirza were present in the meeting at the Presidency. Farhatullah Babar, the presidential spokesperson, told the media after the meeting that chief minister Sindh and the interior minister briefed the meeting about the situation in Karachi and that decisions were taken in the light of the briefing given by the provincial chief minister. He said it was also decided that law and order in Karachi would be maintained at all costs. Babar said the meeting decided that judges would be appointed to the vacant posts of anti-terror courts and the prosecution branch would be beefed up to provide an effective legal framework for dealing with criminals and lawless elements. The president, while taking notice of the recent wave of killings in Karachi, directed the interior minister to proceed to Karachi and coordinate with provincial authorities in dealing with the law and order situation. The interior minister also briefed the meeting about his talks with law enforcing agencies. Farhatullah Babar said the meeting expressed concerns over the recent spate of killings in Karachi and the president directed provincial authorities to take necessary steps for restoring peace in the city and bringing terrorists to book regardless of their political affiliations, if any. The president said that the government would not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands and would use all possible means to ensure the safety and security of the people. The president also called upon the political leadership of Karachi to complement the government’s efforts in restoring peace in the city and bringing miscreants to justice. The meeting also sympathised and condoled with the families of victims. Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, provincial ministers Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Manzoor Hussain Wasan, Nawab Mir Nadir Ali Khan Magsi, Agha Siraj Durrani, Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, Faryal Talpur, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah and Dr Babar Awan were amongst those who attended the meeting. Source: [URL="http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=7289&Cat=13&dt=7/9/2011"]The News[/URL], [URL="http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/09/zardari-orders-to-revive-commissioner-system-in-karachi.html"]DAWN[/URL] |
DSP Shahzadi Gulfam - 2011 UN Award Recepient
[B]INTERNATIONAL FEMALE POLICE PEACEKEEPER AWARD[/B]
The International Female Police Peacekeeper Award is a competitive award given to an outstanding female police peacekeeper serving in a UN peace operation. The objectives of the award are to: [LIST][*]To promote an understanding of police in peace operations throughout the world;[*]To highlight the efforts of female police in global peace operations;[*]To increase understanding of the roles of women officers in various countries;[*]To encourage participation in UN peace operations by all countries of[*]the world;[*]To promote membership in the UN International Female Police Peacekeepers Network,[*]To increase international understanding and awareness of women in[*]international police peacekeeping and the UN International Female Police[*]Peacekeepers Network;[*]To recognize the outstanding accomplishments of a female police[*]peacekeeper.[/LIST] The award is organized in collaboration with the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) Awards programme and delivered during the annual conference of the IAWP. [B]2011 Award Recipient[/B] [B]Deputy Superintendent Shahzadi Gulfam (Pakistan)[/B] serving in the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). Assisting the Vulnerable The United Nations Police Division in the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) International Scholarship Committee are very proud to announce the recipient of the 2011 International Female Police Peacekeeper Award, Deputy Superintendent Shahzadi Gulfam from Pakistan. She is currently deployed in the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) as the United Nations Police (UNPOL) Team Leader posted in the Timor-Leste National Police (PNTL) Vulnerable Persons Unit (VPU) in the capital Dili. After completing her studies, Officer Gulfam joined the Punjab Police in March 1985. During her professional police career of over two decades, she performed equally well at the national and international level. In Pakistan working for the Investigation Unit she supervised 150 police officers conducting criminal investigations. Later she worked in the Punjab Highway Patrol and organized traffic awareness courses for the general public. She played a key role in improving the Traffic System in the province by strictly implementing discipline to curb illegal practices and protect vulnerable citizens from corrupt police officers. Officer Gulfam was the first female police officer to represent Pakistan when she was deployed in the UN Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997. She has subsequently served in UN Missions in Kosovo in 1999 and Timor-Leste in 2007. While serving as a Recruitment and Selection coordinator for Kosovo Police Service (KPS) with United Nations Mission in Kosovo (1999-2001) Officer Gulfam used to visit the schools and colleges in rural areas to reach out to women and motivate them to join the police service, which had very few female officers at the time. She explained the role of police, the added value of a gender balanced service and the impact that women can make. She is proud to have contributed to the national and international efforts to increase the number of female officers in KPS at its inception. By 2010, there were over 1,000 female police officers in this service. Officer Gulfam was redeployed in 2010 in the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). “UNPOL Shahzadi Gulfam has shown enthusiasm, diligence and zeal in her work with the Vulnerable Persons Unit in Dili. Sadly in post-conflict Timor-Leste domestic violence is a common crime and victims often find it difficult to file complaints,” says UNMIT Police Commissioner Luis Carillho and adds that “despite these difficulties Officer Gulfam has played an exceptional role in supporting and protecting vulnerable persons”. In her current capacity, UNPOL Officer Gulfam is responsible for facilitating the referrals to shelter and medical assistance to victims of domestic violence, as well as for reporting on missing persons and human trafficking. Her duties include liaising with the Justice Ministry to provide legal redress to victims. She also coordinates with health institutions on the provision of psychological support to victims. As a team leader she assesses the quality of service offered at shelters for vulnerable people who experienced violence. Officer Gulfam has played an exceptional role in bringing suspects to the courts of law and providing justice to the needy. When she joined the Vulnerable Persons Unit (VPU) a total of 411 cases were pending investigation since 2007. “And in one year after great effort I helped to solve 72 pending cases,” explained Gulfam. She was instrumental in involving a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in efficiently assisting victims of sexual assault and abuse. In addition, she has diligently carried out awareness programmes regarding the new Timorese law that criminalized domestic violence that was approved in May 2010. By visiting remote areas of Timor-Leste, Officer Gulfam again serves as a role-model for local girls and women inspiring them to join the national police service. The International Female Police Peacekeeper Award will be delivered at the opening ceremony of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) annual training conference on 21 August 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Twelve award applications, which represent female police officers from 11 countries serving in seven United Nations peace missions worldwide, were submitted for this competitive award. Source: [url=http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/sites/police/award.shtml]Network of Female Police Peacekeepers - International Female Police Peacekeeper Award. United Nations Police[/url] |
DSP is not a civil servant according to the definition of civil servant by Civil Servant Act 1973.However, her contribution merits this award.
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[QUOTE=Zohaib Baloch;343221]DSP is not a civil servant according to the definition of civil servant by Civil Servant Act 1973.However, her contribution merits this award.[/QUOTE]
I just re-read the definition and there is no mention of specific posts to be considered as a "civil servant". Maybe my understanding is wrong and maybe you can elaborate? The definition I used is as follows. [INDENT]b) “civil servant” means a person who is a member of an All-Pakistan Service or of a civil service of the Federation, or who holds a civil post in connection with the affairs of the Federation, including any such post connected with defence, but does include-[INDENT](i) a person who is on deputation to the Federation from any Province or other authority; (ii) a person who is employed on contract, or on work-charged basis or who is paid from contingencies; or (iii) a person who is “worker” or “workman” as defined in the Factories Act, (XXV of 1934), or the Workman’s Compensation Act, 1923 (VIII of 1923):[/INDENT][/INDENT] Thanks. |
[QUOTE=Viceroy;343266]I just re-read the definition and there is no mention of specific posts to be considered as a "civil servant". Maybe my understanding is wrong and maybe you can elaborate?
The definition I used is as follows. [INDENT]b) “civil servant” means a person who is a member of an All-Pakistan Service or of a civil service of the Federation, or who holds a civil post in connection with the affairs of the Federation, including any such post connected with defence, but does include-[INDENT](i) a person who is on deputation to the Federation from any Province or other authority; (ii) a person who is employed on contract, or on work-charged basis or who is paid from contingencies; or (iii) a person who is “worker” or “workman” as defined in the Factories Act, (XXV of 1934), or the Workman’s Compensation Act, 1923 (VIII of 1923):[/INDENT][/INDENT] Thanks.[/QUOTE] You have followed the correct definition and the answer is also given.There is a difference between civil servant and government servant.A civil servant is the employee of federation.Federal government to be precise.APUG (DMG,PSP,SG) officers are member of all Pakistan service.Other occupational group officers are members of civil service and those who hold posts in the federation are civil servants.Like wise civilians who are working in defence organisations on permanent Basic Pay Scale basis are civil servants.However,it excludes those on contract,semi-government or autonomous bodies.Like wise, the provincial service officers or those hired by the province are not civil servants.In principle,every civil servant is a government servant but not all government servants are civil servants.PSP officers are civil servants but DSP or provincial police officers are government servants.The above mentioned DSP was recruited in Punjab Police not Police Service of Pakistan that is why she is not a civil servant but a government servant. I hope that I might have cleared my point a bit.This was just to sensitize the aspirants here the difference between Civil Servant and Government Servant and should not be construed to belittle her contribution or to create a sense of discrimination.Just for academic purpose. Thanks |
Got it, much thanks and apologies for the delayed response. My understanding of the term civil servants was a little internationalized (for a the lack of a better term) as all office bearers of the UN are civil servants and like wise in the US I think even fire fighters are civil servants. However, understanding things in Pakistan's context is important and I am grateful for your explanation.
Regards. |
[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]The ICS served Pakistan well[/SIZE][/CENTER]
By Arun Bhatnagar 4th of September, 2011.[/B] When Nirmal Kumar Mukarji, the last serving Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer in India retired as Cabinet Secretary in 1980, the curtain finally came down on a Service which Pandit Motilal Nehru described in 1907 as “the greatest of the services in the world which has produced some of the most distinguished builders of the British Empire”. Mukarji’s fellow-recruits by competitive examination in India in the last intake of the ICS in 1943 included three Muslims: Aftab Ghulam Nabi (AGN) Kazi, Agha Shahi and M. Riazuddin Ahmed. They, like a majority of the Muslim ICS, opted for Pakistan in 1947. Kazi was born in Sindh in 1919 and commenced his innings in the ICS in Bihar and Orissa. His career of over half a century made him the longest serving civil servant in Pakistan. Hailing from Mysore, Agha Shahi was connected with the family of the Diwan, Sir Mirza Ismail. Alongside his brother, Agha Hilaly (ICS, 1936), he was a pillar of Pakistan’s foreign service establishment and became Foreign Secretary in 1973. The movement of the Muslim ICS towards alignment with the Muslim League and the demand for Pakistan developed gradually. While, on the whole, the Muslim ICS had never been pro-Congress, they were neither predominantly pro-Muslim League until 1945-46 when Indian politics polarised sharply. By the end of 1946, most ICS Indians in the Central Government were either pro-Congress or pro-Muslim League. Ironically enough, the Pakistan protagonists in the senior bureaucracy on the eve of transfer of power were led by the Audit and Accounts Service, chiefly Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, a finance officer of exceptional merit and integrity who was appointed the first Secretary-General of the Government of Pakistan, becoming Finance Minister in 1951 and Prime Minister in 1955-56. By virtue of the pre-eminent position of the ICS in the governance of colonial India, this elite group soon established its grip over the administration. It was assisted by European officers who opted for Pakistan in numbers higher than in India. While Pakistan remained considerably short of manpower, those who were available were imbued with the British administrative tradition and quickly replicated it, down to the strict recruitment standards and high-quality training institutions. At Partition, three of the four provincial governors were ICS Europeans: Sir Francis Mudie (Punjab), Sir Frederick Bourne (East Bengal) and Sir George Cunningham (NWFP). In 1950, seven of the top civilians in Pakistan were still European. Mohammed Ikramullah (ICS, CP & Berar) served with distinction as the first Foreign Secretary. His wife, Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, an accomplished author and essayist, was active in the Muslim League and was one of the two women representatives in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Aziz Ahmed, the first Chief Secretary in the eastern wing, was also Foreign Secretary; the other ICS Foreign Secretaries included J.A. Rahim, Mirza Sikandar Ali Baig and S.K. Dehlavi, (ICS, Bihar, 1938). An outstanding civil servant, Akhter Husain received his early education at the Hakimia High School, Burhanpur (Central Provinces) and graduating from the Allahabad University, he entered the ICS becoming Chief Secretary in the undivided Punjab in 1946-47, Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Governor of West Pakistan and a Federal Minister. The Muslim ICS who opted for Pakistan came from virtually every province of British India; these included A.T. Naqvi, S. Ghias-ud-Din Ahmed, H.A. Majid, Syed Fida Hasan, M.R. Kayani, S.H. Raza, Abdul Majeed, Naseer Ahmad Faruqui, Mirza Muzaffar (M M) Ahmad, Shaikh Nazrul Bakar (originally of the Bihar cadre, he had to retire prematurely because of a clash with Aziz Ahmed who emerged as the Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator in 1958), Shahabuddin Rahmatullah, Asghar Ali, M.M. Niaz, Qamar-ul-Islam and Qudratullah Shahab. Kayani (ICS, Punjab, 1927) was the Chief Justice of West Pakistan from 1958 to 1962. He was not elevated to the Supreme Court because of his open criticism of the military authorities. Ghulam Mueenuddin, (ICS, Punjab, 1930) was Secretary of the Establishment Division and, later, the Chief Election Commissioner. He was a principal negotiator of the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) and is the father of Daniyal Mueenuddin, the Pakistani-American author of the widely acclaimed short story collection “In Other Rooms, Other Wonders”. M.M. Ahmad joined the ICS in 1939 and, at one stage of his career, was arguably the most influential civil servant in Pakistan with supervisory authority over three ministries. Four Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan had their origins in the ICS, namely, Muhammad Shahabuddin (1960), A.R. Cornelius (1960-68), S.A. Rahman (1968) and Sheikh Anwarul Haq (1977-81). Justice Shahabuddin (ICS, 1921) was born in Ellore (Madras) and was a Judge of the High Court there; after Partition, he was appointed as a Judge of the Dacca High Court. Justice Cornelius entered the ICS in 1926 and was a Judge of the Lahore High Court. Post-1947, he was a founding father of Pakistan cricket and is the recipient of Hilal-i-Pakistan. On the other hand, there were amongst others, Sahibzada Khurshid Ahmed Khan, Chief Commissioner, Delhi in 1947 and son of a co-founder of the AMU and Syed Hasan Zaheer (son of Sir Wazir Hasan who was President of the All India Muslim League in 1936) opted for India. In the Punjab cadre, two Muslim ICS, BFHB Tyabji (of the family of the first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress, a Sulaimani Bohra) and M. Azim Hussain (son of Sir Fazle Hussain) chose to serve in India while Cornelius and Burke, both Indian Christians, opted for Pakistan. Till he died at the age of 104, Samuel Martin Burke (1906-2010) was an ICS officer who outlived many others. He belonged to the 1930 batch and later quit the ICS but was recalled by the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to join the foreign service. Then there was Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan (1914-1999) who is widely credited with pioneering micro-credit initiatives, farmers’ cooperatives and rural training programmes in the developing world. A son-in-law of Allama Mashriqi, his particular contribution was the establishment of a comprehensive project for rural development, the Comilla Model (1959) which earned him the Ramon Magsaysay Award. The eighty-one ICS officers who opted for service in Pakistan helped immeasurably in providing an administrative structure which kept things going in the early years. Many of them were from northern India or from the Bengal cadre of the ICS and formed the core of a new central service called the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) which was later rechristened as the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP). In August, 1973, Prime Minister Z. A. Bhutto unveiled civil service reforms, saying that a new system was being put in place in which all services and cadres, including the remaining ICS officers and their successors in the CSP, would be merged into one service with equality of opportunity for all. It is interesting to note that a founding member of the Pakistan People’s Party was an ICS man, Jalaluddin Abdur (JA) Rahim whose German-born wife, Esther Rahim, was a well-known painter and contributed significantly to the setting up of the Karachi Arts Council. [B][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]The writer joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1966 and retired as Secretary, Government of India. [email]bhatnagar66@gmail.com[/email][/COLOR][/B] |
Pak education official gets UNESCO prize
[B]Pak education official gets UNESCO prize[/B]
New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) Allah Bakhsh Malik, a Pakistani education official, today received the International Confucius Prize of UNESCO from the President Pratibha Patil at a function here to mark the Literacy Day. "Malik, who is Secretary, Punjab Literacy and Basic Education Department, has been conferred with the award in recognition of his meritorious services in the field of education and literacy and is the first Pakistani recipient of the coveted award," a Pakistan High Commission release said. He has successfully employed an innovative model of educating children and adults through functional literacy in Pakistan''s Punjab region, it said. "He has introduced foundation assisted schools for affordable quality education in public-private partnership, which have been replicated in many other countries. One of his innovative ideas was the introduction of the Educational Voucher Scheme in the urban slums of the Punjab province," it said. Malik holds a PhD in development economics and belongs to the 1985 batch of the Civil Service of Pakistan. The award was instituted by UNESCO in 2005 for recognition of outstanding innovative contributions in the field of education and literacy. Source: [url=http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5424291]Pak education official gets UNESCO prize - *[/url] |
[B][CENTER]Back door opened for favourites
By Imran Ali Teepu.[/CENTER][/B] ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: The government has quietly issued a notification allowing outsiders to be directly inducted into grade-19 of the Office Management Group (OMG) with the approval of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The three-page notification, said a senior federal government official, allocates quotas for different categories of services: “Ten per cent quota each has been allotted to officers from the armed forces, the provincial services and semi-government and autonomous institutions.” Positions in grade-19 and above are most sought-after as this more or less guarantees a place in the high-profile `Secretariat Group`. The notification was issued by the CP-II Wing of the Establishment Division that deals mainly with forming new service groups for the civil service and for the induction of the officers into the service. The officer claimed that the move was aimed at better service delivery, improving the federal governance system and inducting professional officials of the semi-government and autonomous institutions in the federal government. But the officers waiting in the wings are not going to be happy with this move. There are already nearly 300 officers of the Office Management Group (OMG) who are awaiting promotion to grade-19 and they will directly be affected if these slots get filled up with direct inductions and absorptions from the other services. A senior bureaucrat of the Establishment Division elaborated that out of 750 officers in the OMG, nearly 600 were in grade-18: “The promotion of almost 300 grade-18 officers to the next grade is due and their services will negatively be affected by this move.” He added that the move would have no positive impact on governance or running of the federal government. “The government`s claim for direct induction in the secretariat for better service delivery and improved governance is wrong,” he said. He said that the move was aimed at attracting better qualified people to the service group but he cast doubt at the decision as the people in the armed forces or private sector got better salaries and perks and hence would not opt for the civil service. “Why would anyone with better emoluments in an autonomous institution or semi-government department prefer to be inducted in grade-19 [deputy secretary] given that the benefits for the latter are less?” enquired the officer. “Take for instance the armed forces personnel. In 2009, their salaries were doubled. Why would an officer receiving routine promotion and better monetary benefits join the civil service and have his salary halved? The case is no different for a manager-level officer of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) or Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL),” he asserted. Therefore, the critics allege that the government is going to use the move to favour certain people. In fact, insiders claim that the notification was delayed by the bureaucrats for this reason. The summary was proposed by the Establishment Division a few weeks ago. “The summary trundled through the bureaucracy and got stuck at several levels: from a section officer to secretary Establishment Division and even at the level of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister – everyone was aware that it would affect OMG officers,” remarked an office management group officer, who did not wish to disclose his name. He adds that the current notification was kept a secret and held back within the confidential file mechanism of the Establishment Division. “This is because the government can be taken to the court over it,” he added. OMG officers are traditionally inducted via four channels: direct induction through section 10, routine promotion in the federal government, promotional exams, and direct induction through the competitive exams. Previously there was a bar on hiring OMG officers from 1999 to 2008. “Then president Pervez Musharraf was advised that officers from other departments should work on deputation in grade-17 and grade-18 on rotational bases; he was told that OMG officers would not serve any purpose,” said the senior bureaucrat of the Establishment Division.“But Musharraf`s idea was not effective. Officers were not willing to serve in the civil secretariat,” said the bureaucrat. “A grade-17 customs officer will never opt for one step above deputation in grade-18 for just five years and that too for serving in the civil secretariat.” The bar was removed once the new government took over in 2008 and grade-17 officers were inducted after almost a decade. |
CSS reforms or a recipe for disaster
[B][CENTER]CSS reforms or a recipe for disaster
[/CENTER][/B] UNFORTUNATELY all sorts of mismanagement and illogical alterations of rules have turned the civil service into a lapdog. The service is on the verge of institutional and systematic collapse. This time a proposal is to reform the civil service to favour political appointees. The scheme will allow inductions in senior grades, BPS-19 and BPS-20, from the provinces and other occupational groups, primarily to allow swift promotions to politically-backed officers of other services. The Balochistan chief minister had asserted that officers from Balochistan should be given quota in civil services under the Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan package to minimise the disappointment, sense of marginalisation and frustration among the people of the province. Using the Balochistan request as a pretext, it has been decided to allow induction into the secretariat group against the posts of deputy secretaries and joint secretaries from all the provinces and other occupational groups as well. But the fact can hardly be exaggerated that there is no mention of induction into the secretariat group alone in the Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan package. If this free package had been applied to Balochistan only, it would have been appreciated by all but the enhancement of this to other provinces is an objectionable matter which has no rationale and logic. The additional 10 per cent vacancies of deputy secretaries (BS-19) in the SG may be reserved for induction of regular BS-19 civil servants of all the four provincial governments, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan and persons in BS-19/equivalent in the service of its attached departments, autonomous bodies/semi-autonomous bodies, corporations on the basis of merit, provincial/regional quota. The additional 10 per cent vacancies of DS (BS-19) and JS (BPS-20) in the secretariat group may also be reserved for induction of BS-19 regular officers of all the federal occupational groups/cadres and the persons in BS-19/equivalent in the service of federal autonomous, semi-autonomous bodies, etc. Now the civil service, which is already losing its credibility, is targeted. Officers of the OMG/SG feel threatened to know the fact that people from other groups are going to be there. Already there are appointments by transfer and quota for inductions from other groups in OMG/ SG. When in a state of such utter confusion and uncertainty, how can efficiency be expected from officers? When the basic working unit of a division/ministry will not deliver, how can the system be deliverable and responsive? These officers should be given their full right to life, i.e., promotional right and in their group this should be specifically for them, like the other groups. The government should immediately revisit and take back its decision to avoid further collision of groups and services for ensuring bureaucratic service delivery in an efficient way. Or these reforms should be in all other occupational groups and services as a standard rule of equality. SUMMER NOOR Islamabad [URL="http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/30/css-reforms-or-a-recipe-for-disaster.html"]Source[/URL] |
No short cut to success?
“GRANDFATHERS have ways of coming up with statements that seem less and less logical as you grow up. Questions like ‘where do babies come from?’ would get strange answers that proved really low on facts as time passed.
“Now that he is no more in this world I often find myself wishing for some conversation with him so that I can tell him ‘Look grandpa, you need to update your knowledge’. Another statement by my late grandfather was ‘there are no shortcuts to success.’ Apparently there are, and many of them.” This is what an angry young man, who happens to be an engineer in a government department, had to say to me the other day. Just to cool him down, I came up with a lot of ‘grandfatherly’ advice for him on the lines that success is not what meets the eye, that it entails much more, that getting to a certain position fast is not success and that true success really has no short cuts. The young man was not in the mood to accept what I had to say, and retorted: “Let me tell you, sir, that when somebody is doing a laborious job in BPS 17 and getting peanuts and hopes to be promoted and then has to have a boss who has been directly appointed and who has not taken any exam, then these grandfatherly ideas of success are hard to digest.” That was the end of the argument and it was game, set and match for the angry young man. The young man’s somewhat heated argument did not irk me as I was privy to the development that caused the outburst — an official notification according to which all contract employees, including officers and daily wagers, who joined the National Highway Authority (NHA) before June 2011 were regularised without having to undergo any tests or interviews. A fly on the wall says that a conscientious, non-political figure in the loop, who was signing the notification, commented that “I am signing the death warrants of the NHA”. Given the political pressures as they exist, he could do little more than to make the comment. I am not against giving people job security but merit is something that makes or breaks an organisation. If you want those people to benefit who have been serving in an organisation for years and have done well then a criterion for their recruitment can be fixed. They can be given an extra mark in their final recruitment score for each year they have served in the organisation, but just having them on-board without any competitive test or interview and without advertising the position they are meant to occupy is a bit too much. Even this extra credit is unjustified because most of these employees get appointed in the first place due to some political link or relative associated with the bureaucracy. Somebody who, sadly, is a common man should not suffer for his lack of connections or poor family background. But that is the way it is in Pakistan — the sudden rise of the prime minister’s daughter as the saviour of women in Pakistan is one example of how bizarre we can get. Our ruling political parties have a way of maintaining their vote bank at the expense of merit. Many inductions were made in the Intelligence Bureau, PIA, the Sui Southern Gas Company and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines in yesteryear without following any proper procedure of recruitment and a little later these appointments were regularised at the cost of those who took the long route to success. Most of the political appointees never take any tests of an academic nature when they are recruited; however, they must have passed with flying colours the comprehensive tests to appease the political linchpins they used to get unlawful appointments. It does not end here; our parties make sure that a wrong cannot be undone. A mild reminder of this fact is the sacked employees’ reinstatement law, approved by the president last year. It is rather generous in that it orders the reinstatement of thousands of employees (appointed during the PPP dispensation that governed from 1993 to 1996 and sacked by the next PML dispensation) of government and semi-government organisations who were laid off due to political influence in their appointments and perhaps to accommodate others of the new set-up’s choice. Dues running into billions of rupees had also to be paid, putting a financial burden on the organisations. When KESC tries to lay off thousands of ghost workers who have been appointed for their political affiliations, to keep a vote bank intact every Tom, Dick and Harry (read: leading political figures) jump in to earn some brownie points, disregarding the possible repercussions of their decisions on future foreign investments. Lastly, I am contemplating applying for Australian immigration. Because I know, once I am a grandfather, I, too, would have to come up with stories like ‘there are no shortcuts to success’. If I stay here I am pretty sure I would be confronted by my grandson or granddaughter; so better pack my bags and leave. The only thing that keeps me from going ahead with the plan is how I would hate the writer’s description at the end of my article to read ‘The writer is a [B]former Pakistani[/B]’. The writer is a civil servant [email]s_a_h_2@hotmail.com[/email] |
dear sir
iam , new member on this platform plz i need some guideline iam, non Muslim how i study Islamiyat plz help |
Threat to CSS Structure
THIS refers to the letter `CSS reforms or a recipe for disaster` (Oct 30) by Summer Noor. OMG/Secretariat Group is an occupational group of the CSS, and an officer starts his/her career as a section officerin the federal secretariat, Islamabad.
A section officer is the backbone of policymaking as he initiates each policy through his first note. Sensitivity of this post demands that these people should be highly competent to steer the policy-making process at the national level. But, unfortunately, induction into this group was stopped twice since its inception: first, from 8th to 16th commons and, then, from 28th to 36th commons. It is noteworthy that during that tenure these posts werecontinuously filled through lateral entry or through deputation or through section 10. All the favourites were later inducted into the OMG and now enjoy seniority in our batch 37th CTP OMG, which is selected through CSS after 10 years. Owing to this mala fide induction secretariat functioning is at the lowest ebb as far as quality is concerned. The prime minister has signed notification after notification to induct favourites from various regions and accommodate them permanently in the OMG. On the one hand, they have to face discrimination from the DMG which has threat of competition from this group in grade 20 and, on the other hand, they have to suffer from theselateralentrants in clear violation of merit and rules. OMG induction through CSS was banned by the all-powerful DMG as they hold post of secretary, establishment, and such other posts responsible for promotion and induction of civil servants. Now these officers are suffering and feeling bad as they have come through a rigorous process of selection and training. But the people from the other side do not have such examinations or training. Induction into 17 and 18 grades and now into 19 and 20 grades without the CSS will destroy the service structure of the OMG/Secretariat Group badly. RAJA KASHIF Rawalpindi |
[IMG]http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j374/madeel206/Arain007/CSSnews13NovJang.gif[/IMG]
[B]Source: Daily Jang 13 Nov 2011[/B] |
‘Threat’ to CSS officers
[B][CENTER]‘Threat’ to CSS officers[/CENTER][/B]
THIS is apropos of the letters by Summer Noor and Raja Kashif on the topic of CSS structure which, according to them, is under threat. It shows that all is not well in the federal secretariat. On the one hand, CSS officers of the OMG are threatened by induction of political favourites and, on the other hand, by the DMG. There is no denying the fact that CSS examinations have been one of the fairest processes that still exist in our country but the alarming thing is that the government is trying to induct its favourites into the CSS occupational group in the name of public interest. My question to the government is whether the public interest lies in inducting people on merit or inducting them on the basis of favouritism. My answer is that people selected on the basis of merit can ensure good governance and serve public interest in a better way. Similarly, why is the DMG bent upon destroying the service structure of its counterpart group OMG/Secretariat Group, after having wreaked havoc on the provincial services? Is the interest of an elitist group of bureaucracy more important than good governance? It is necessary for the federal government to mitigate frustration among young officers of OMG/Secretariat Group, who were selected through CSS examinations. Once these officers are satisfied, policymaking and governance will start improving with the influx of modern ideas from these young minds. COL (Rtd) M.A. ABBASI Abbotabad [B][URL="http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/20/threat-to-css-officers.html"]Source[/URL][/B] |
[IMG]http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j374/madeel206/Arain007/Civilservice22-11.gif[/IMG]
[B]Source: Daily Jang 22 Nov 2011[/B] |
Deputation: a bureaucratic menace
[B][CENTER]Deputation: a bureaucratic menace[/CENTER][/B]
THIS is in response to the news item (Nov 19) about the appointment of outsiders on deputation on lucrative posts. It is an example of misuse of deputation for personal gains and minting money. The Sindh High Court in its verdict in Lal Khan verus EOBI case had ordered the repatriation of deputationists to their parent departments. This decision was later affirmed by the Supreme Court. But the truth is that deputationists are working in federal secretariat on key posts, starting from section officers to additional secretaries. The same is true for other departments, be it passport office, associated departments and autonomous bodies. The Federal Secretariat has become a grazing ground for influential deputationists from provinces and attached departments. This has led to blockade of promotion of regular secretariat officers, as well as to corruption. The case of rental power plants and Haj corruption case manifest it clearly, where officers on deputation, in order to please their bosses, issued orders which were in clear violation of rules and resulted in these big scams. The term deputation, which was introduced for having the services of competent officers, has degenerated into a menace. It is alarming that the large part of bureaucracy in federal secretariat is on deputation, a clear example of ad hocism. The government should avoid further deterioration of bureaucracy which is called the steel frame of a state. RAJA KASHIF Islamabad [URL="http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/26/deputation-a-bureaucratic-menace.html"]Deputation: a bureaucratic menace[/URL] |
CSS exam rules
[B][CENTER]CSS exam rules[/CENTER][/B]
APPEARING in CSS examinations is all about a game of nerves. But it is quite injustice to prepare a schedule for conducting CSS examinations where the game of nerves criteria is only applied to candidates who have opted for subjects like political science, history, sociology and journalism. They have to appear consecutively in these papers right from compulsory subjects to their optional ones by concluding their examinations just in a week. I appeal to the authorities concerned to apply the same criterion/rule to the other optional subjects like regional languages, psychology, philosophy, geography and natural science subjects because the CSS is also a game of points whereby one can be allocated a better group by just a difference of one or two points. RAHIM MEHSUD Islamabad [URL="http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/30/css-exam-rules.html"]CSS exam rules[/URL] |
Ban imposed on purchase of staff cars for grade 20-22 civil servants
[B]Ban imposed on purchase of staff cars for grade 20-22 civil servants
[/B] ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved the rules/policy for 'Compulsory Monetization of Transport Facility for Civil Servants (BPS-20 to 22)'. The rules/policy were formulated in line with the decision of the cabinet in its meeting held on June 3,2011. The application of the monetization policy will be compulsory for all civil servants (BS-20 to 22) as per the approved parameters. According to the proposed policy, there will be complete ban on purchase of staff cars while no officer of BS-20 to BS-22 will be entitled and authorized to use project vehicles or the departmental operational/general duty vehicles for any kind of duty. Services of the regular permanent driver will be offered to BS-20 to BS-22 civil servants on optional basis on deduction of Rs. 10,000/-per month from the monetized value. There will be no new recruitment of drivers. The implementation of the policy will result in likely savings of Rs.1.369 billion per annum. (APP) Source The News. |
Sindh card users banking on Punjabi Baboo brigade
[B][CENTER]Sindh card users banking on Punjabi Baboo brigade
Ansar Abbasi Monday, December 05, 2011[/CENTER][/B] ISLAMABAD: President Zardari’s blessed Gilani government, which makes tall claims about serving the interest of the smaller federating units and leaves no opportunity to use the Sindh card, is betting on the brigade of top Punjabi bureaucrats to run his government as other provinces have either no or extremely low representation in the federal secretariat. Out of the 49 federal secretaries, heading federal divisions, 43 belong to Punjab, three each from Sindh and KPK while there is not even a single bureaucrat from Balochistan leading any of the federal divisions. Two of the three federal secretaries, including Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi and Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood, have hardly or never served in Sindh in their whole career. Punjabi bureaucrats never had a smoother sailing in the history of Pakistan than what they are presently enjoying under the PPP regime—a government which otherwise pays a lot of lip service to the ‘federation’ and the rights of the smaller federating units. A who’s who of top-level federal bureaucracy reveals that the Federation of Pakistan has practically withered away as far as top-level bureaucratic placements are concerned. Despite all the much ado about the Balochistan package, Sindh mainstreaming and addressing the deprivation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the smaller federating units have practically nil representation at the policy and leadership level in the federal civil services and at the top policy making body of the country — the federal secretariat. All the key civil servants posted in important bureaucratic positions are either direct ‘selectees’ of Prime Minister Gilani or ‘recommendees’ of Senior Minister Chaudry Perviaz Elahi as terms of engagement with the PPP have made it a point that all the Punjabi bureaucrats who were part of the Pervaiz Elahi team in Musharraf regime are given key positions in the federal government. This favouritism have totally disproportionate the share of the federating units in complete favour of Punjab. It is shocking to see that out of 49 ministries and divisions surveyed, 43 positions of federal secretaries are occupied by Baboos belonging to Punjab, whereas three posts of federal secretaries are occupied by Sindhi bureaucrats, three by officers, belonging to KPK, and PM Gilani could not find even one single Baloch civil servant for a responsible position in Islamabad. As per the Constitution, the share of provinces in the Federal Civil Services is 50 percent for Punjab, and 23 percent for Sindh, 11.5 percent for KP, 4 percent and 5% for Fata and 4 percent for Balochistan. Any government which wants to strengthen the federation should go beyond this proportion on the principles of affirmative action. Interestingly, members of the federal cabinet, MNAs and senators have also turned a blind eye to this erosion of the federal civil service. President Zardari, who leaves no opportunity to play the Sindh card or smaller provinces card, also ignored this cartelisation of the federal bureaucracy. Even President Zardari’s own secretariat is stuffed with Punjabi bureaucrats. One strange aspect of this scandalous under representation of smaller provinces at the top position in Islamabad is that all the major coalition partners of the PPP belonging to smaller provinces — the MQM, ANP, JUI, Fata representatives and PML-Q — have never raised a word against this historic injustice to the federation. It is worth mentioning here that all major policy formulation bodies, like the federal cabinet, ECC, Ecnec, Planning Commission, depend on expert advice of all these federal secretaries, hence the smaller provinces are practically excluded from these important policy positions. Following is the list of Punjabi Baboos ruling the roost under the PPP government: Junaid Iqbal Ch, Secretary Capital Administration and Development Division; Zafar Mahmood, Secretary Commerce; Anwar Ahmad Khan, Secretary Communications; Abdul Wajid Rana, Secretary Economic Affairs; Rana Asad Amin, Special Secretary Finance; Sarshar Ahmad Khan, Special Secretary, Military Finance; Salman Bashir, Secretary Foreign Affairs; Kamran Lashari, Secretary Housing & Works; Mrs Batool Iqbal Qureshi, Secretary, Human Rights; Muhammad Ahsan, Addl Secretary in charge, Human Resources Development; Taimur Azmat Usman, secretary Information and Broadcasting; Saeed Ahmad Khan, Secretary Information Technology & Tele-communication; Khawaja Siddique Akbar, Secretary Interior; Muhammad Arif Azeem, Secretary Railways; Babur yaqoob, Secretary, Kashmir Affairs and Northern Affairs; Muhammad Masood Chishti, Secretary Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Sohail Ahmad, Secretary Narcotics Control; Karamat Hussain Niazi, Secretary National Assembly; Anisul Hasnain Musavi, Secretary National Harmony Division; Javed Malik, Secretary National Disaster Management; Shafqat Hussain Naghmi, Secretary National Food Security and Research; Maj (r) Qamar Zaman, Secretary Overseas Pakistanis (Additional Charge); Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry, Secretary Petroleum & Natural Resources; Javed Mahmood, Secretary, Planning & Development; Agha Sarwar Raza Qazilbash, Secretary Ports & Shipping; Raja Ikramul Haq, Secretary Postal Services; Maj (r) Haroon Rashid, Special Secretary, President’s Secretariat (Public); Maj (r) Malik Asif Hayat, Secretary, President’s Secretariat (Public); Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Prime Minister’s Secretariat / Federal Secretary, Establishment (Addl Charge); Muhammad Ayub Kazi, Special Secretary, Prime Minister’s Secretariat; Shahid Hussain Raja, Secretary Privatisation; Muhammad Javed Iqbal Awan, Secretary Production; Maj (r) Qamar Zaman, Secretary Professional and Technical Training; Arif Azeem, Secretary, Railways; Shoukat Hayat Durrani, Federal Secretary, Religious Affairs; Salman Siddique, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue; Ikhlaq Ahmad Tarar, Secretary Scientific & Technological Research; Asif Bajwa, Secretary Statistics; Shahid Rasheed, Secretary Textile Industry; Maj (r) Khawaja Muhammad Naeem, Wafaqi Mohtasib’s Secretariat. KP got a slightly better deal, because Federal Industries Secretary Aziz Bilour has two brothers as a federal minister and provincial ministers. The other two KP based federal secretaries being Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Inter Provincial Coordination and Habib Ullah Kahn as secretary States and Frontier Regions. The only Sindhi federal secretary is Imtiaz Qazi working as federal secretary Water and Power whereas Nargis Sethi, Federal Secretary Cabinet and Dr Waqar Masood Khan, Federal Secretary, Finance, too have Sindh domiciles but if not all, they served the most part of their careers in Islamabad. Source : The News. |
Deputation: a boon or bane?
[B][CENTER]Deputation: a boon or bane?[/CENTER][/B]
THIS is apropos of the letter ‘Deputation: a bureaucratic menace’ (Nov 26). After going through which one gathers the impression that the entire bureaucratic corruption has been caused by people who are deputed. The term deputation needs to be understood in its true perspective. According to the prevailing procedure, a government employee is said to be on deputation when he is temporarily transferred through due process to a post in another department or organisation which does not originally belong to the person deputed. According to existing conventions between the provinces and the federation, deputation is a permanent feature of the mutual exchange of services between provincial employees and federal employees. Available statistics makes it abundantly clear that federal employees working in the provinces on a transfer basis (i.e. on deputation) are thrice the number of all provincial employees working in the federation. The provision of deputation in the service structure of employees, while providing horizontal and vertical movements, allows them to get exposure to a variety of experiences. No seasoned and known career civil servant in the civil service history of Pakistan has ever clung either to a single post or a single department in his entire service career. Deputation is protected under statutory rules passed by both provincial and federal legislatures governing civil servants of both provincial and federal cadres in the shape of Civil Servant Acts. Deputation in itself is neither good nor bad. It is bad governance and mismanagement which is the root cause of bureaucratic corruption and not deputation itself, which is simply a procedure for transferring an officer from one cadre to another. M. NADEEM BUTT Islamabad [URL="http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/14/deputation-a-boon-or-bane.html"]Dawn.[/URL] |
Bureaucrats can now buy official cars, for peanuts
[B][CENTER]Bureaucrats can now buy official cars, for peanuts
By Shahbaz Rana[/CENTER][/B] Toyota Corolla, 2006 model, well maintained. Asking price: Rs330,000 The offer above is not a fluke. It is made by the government to top bureaucrats, under its monetisation of transport facility policy recently approved by the prime minister. Under the policy, the government has given civil servants, from grade 20 to 22, the option to purchase cars allocated to them on depreciated prices. The policy was formulated in light of revelations that top civil servants were using more cars than designated to them, and causing billions of rupees in loss to the exchequer on account of fuel expenses. Benevolence of accounting So how does a 2006 Toyota Corolla come down to one-third its market price in five years? The benevolence of accounting tricks. Depreciation, a standard accounting practice, slashes the value of an asset on account of its physical wear-and-tear. There is no standard depreciation formula though, and each organisation can formulate its own, as long as it keeps it consistent. Under the new rules, the government has changed its rules of depreciation. From an earlier policy of depreciating 15% in the first year, and 10% in subsequent years, the government has allowed for 15% depreciation for each year of the vehicle’s life. According to the new formula, therefore, a 1300cc car purchased in 2006 at Rs870,000 will have a depreciated value of Rs330,000 on January 1, 2012. Market value of a similar car, of course, is much higher. “A well-maintained 2006 Corolla is available in the market for about Rs1 million, while one in an average condition is available between Rs900,000 and Rs950,000,” said Raja Safeer, owner of an automobile showroom in Islamabad. Other perks The bureaucrats would not only get the cars at a deeply discounted price, they have also been allowed to pay the amount in monthly installments. Monetisation rules state, “the recovery of installments of the depreciated price of the vehicle shall be fixed at no less than Rs 25,000 per month.” They can also hire official cars at a nominal rate of Rs3.6 per kilometre, according to the rules. While the government had initially announced that after trading in cash for cars, officials would be responsible for their own transport, the new rules states that “one 1300cc vehicle will be maintained for protocol/operational duties by the entitled officers.” Interestingly, secretaries of the divisions and ministries have been tasked to certify that officials who have opted for monetisation policy are not using project or departmental vehicles. The secretaries themselves, however, have been found misusing three to four vehicles. [URL="http://tribune.com.pk/story/309664/benevolence-bureaucrats-can-now-buy-official-cars-for-peanuts/#comment-476409"]Source.[/URL] |
[b]سنڌ جي ڪوٽا تي وفاقي ڪميشن جو امتحان پاس ڪندڙ پنجاب جي ڪاموري جي 2 ٻارن جي ڊوميسائيل جي تصديق نه ٿي
ڪراچي (رپورٽ: اختيار کوکر) سنڌ حڪومت پنجاب جو ڊوميسائيل رکندڙ اڳوڻي وفاقي سيڪريٽري ۽ پنجاب پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن جي ميمبر همايون فرشوريءَ جي سنڌ جي ڪوٽا تي وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن جي گڏيل مقابلي واري امتحان ۾ ڪامياب قرار ڏنل ٻن ٻارن جي ڊوميسائيلن جي تصديق ڪرڻ کان انڪار ڪري ڇڏيو آهي ۽ وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن کي لکي ڇڏيو آهي ته سنڌ جي شهري علائقي جي ڊوميسائيل جي بنياد تي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن جي سال 2011ع واري امتحان ۾ ڪامياب قرار ڏنل مسعود همايون فرشوري ۽ مس ثنا همايون فرشوريءَ پاران ڪراچي جي جمع ڪرايل ڊوميسائيلن جي جاري ٿيڻ بابت ضلعي سينٽرل ڪراچيءَ جي ڊپٽي ڪمشنر غير اطمينان بخش رپورٽ ڏني آهي، ان ڪري انهن ٻنهي اميدوارن جي ڪراچيءَ وارن ڊوميسائيلن جي سنڌ حڪومت تصديق نٿي ڪري سگهي، 4 جنوري 2012ع تي صوبائي گهرو کاتي پاران وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن کي لکيل جوابي خط ۾ وڌيڪ چيو ويو آهي ته همايون فرشوريءَ جي ٻنهي ٻارن جي ڊوميسائيلن ۽ پي آر سيز جي تصديق ڪرڻ لاءِ بهتر ٿيندو ته ٻارن جي والد همايون فرشوريءَ جي ڊوميسائيل ۽ پي آر سي جي تصديق ڪئي وڃي ته ڪٿان جاري ٿيل آهن يا جيڪڏهن وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن چاهي ته ان معاملي جي وڌيڪ جاچ لاءِ صوبائي حڪومت ڪا جاچ ڪاميٽي جوڙي سگهي ٿي، جيڪا جاچ جي سلسلي ۾ اميدوارن ۽ انهن جي والد کي پڻ طلب ڪري ڪري سگهي ٿي. ياد رهي ته وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن 11 آڪٽوبر 2011ع تي سنڌ جي چيف سيڪريٽريءَ کي خط لکي چيو هو ته لاهور جي رهندڙ ۽ پرائمريءَ کان وٺي پوري تعليم لاهور ۾ حاصل ڪندڙ وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن جو سال 2011ع جو گڏيل مقابلي وارو امتحان پاس ڪندڙ ٻن اميدوارن مسعود همايون فرشوري ۽ ثنا همايون فرشوري امتحان لاءِ جمع ڪرايل پنهنجي درخواستن سان گڏ 10 مئي 2010ع تي جاري ٿيل قومي سڃاڻپ ڪارڊن ۾ دعويٰ ڪئي آهي ته هو لاهور ۾ ٿا رهن پر سندن مستقل پتو نارٿ ناظم آباد ڪراچي آهي. هنن ڊوميسائيل سرٽيفڪيٽ پڻ ڪراچيءَ جا پيش ڪيا آهن، جيڪي 12 ڊسمبر 2010ع تي جاري ٿيل آهن، جڏهن ته هنن جو والد وفاقي سيڪريٽري رهيو آهي ۽ هن وقت پنجاب حڪومت ۾ اهم عهدي تي مقرر ٿيل آهي، ان ڪري ٻنهي اميدوارن پاران ڪراچيءَ جا پيش ڪيل ڊوميسائيل مشڪوڪ بڻجي ويا آهن. سنڌ حڪومت جاچ ڪري انهن ڊوميسائيلن جي اصل حقيقت کان ڪميشن کي آگاهه ڪري. ذريعن موجب سنڌ حڪومت انهيءَ خط جي جواب ۾ وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن کي هڪ هفتو اڳ اماڻيل رپورٽ ۾ ٻڌايو آهي ته ضلعي سينٽرل ڪراچيءَ جي ڊپٽي ڪمشنر سنڌ حڪومت کي ڏنل پنهنجي رپورٽ ۾ ٻڌايو آهي ته ڊپٽي ڪمشنر جي آفيس رڪارڊ ۾ انهن ٻنهي ڊوميسائيلن ۽ ڊوميسائيلن ۾ ڏنل ايڊريس واري گهر جي ملڪيت جي وارثيءَ بابت ڪوبه رڪارڊ موجود ڪونهي، ڊي سي آفيس پاران اميدوارن جي هڪ ويجهي عزيز معين الدين روميءَ سان پڻ رابطو ڪري ڊوميسائيلن جي تصديق لاءِ ضروري رڪارڊ طلب ڪيو پر اميدوار به پنهنجي ڊوميسائيلن جي تصديق لاءِ ضروري رڪارڊ نه ڏئي سگهيا آهن، ان ڪري ڊي سي آفيس جو عملو ٻنهي ڊوميسائيلن جي جاري ٿيڻ جي تصديق نه ڪري سگهيو آهي، جنهن جي بنياد تي سنڌ حڪومت وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن کي مٿيون جواب اماڻي ڏنو آهي، همايون فرشوري گذريل 25 سالن دوران سنڌ ۾ ڪنهن به عهدي تي فائز ناهي رهيو ۽ نه ئي سندس خاندان ڪراچيءَ ۾ رهي ٿو پر پوءِ به سنڌ جي ڪوٽا تي وفاقي پبلڪ سروس ڪميشن جي گڏيل مقابلي واري امتحان ۾ سليڪٽ ٿيڻ لاءِ هنن رهائش جي مستقل ايڊريس ڪراچي واري ڄاڻائي ڪراچيءَ مان هڪ سال اڳ جاري ٿيل ڊوميسائيل جمع ڪرائي ڇڏيا آهن.[/b] |
Can someone translate?
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[QUOTE=Omer;396620]Can someone translate?[/QUOTE]
[I]Here is the gist. [/I] Member of Punjab Public Service Commission, Mr. Humayun Farshori, obtained two fake domiciles from Sindh (U) for his son and daughter respectively. Both the beneficiaries qualified the written part but their candidature is withheld and might as well be cancelled due to their fake domiciles. They both have their entire education at Lahore whereas Mr. Humayun was never appointed at any post in Sindh. The case is under sub fpsc. [B]Regards[/B], |
Cold war’ between two top secretaries
[B][CENTER]Cold war’ between two top secretaries
Khawar Ghumman [/CENTER][/B] The federal capital these days is witnessing a cold war between two grade-22 secretaries — Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Khushnood Akhtar Lashari and his predecessor Nargis Sethi. Both play key roles in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and are in good books of Yousuf Raza Gilani. Officials privy to the development say the two hardly miss any chance to hit out at each other in public and in private. Ms Sethi is currently working as cabinet and defence secretary. Mr Lashari is also holding the additional charge of secretary of the establishment division. As PS to the premier the entire official business discharged by the prime minister is routed through him and as establishment division secretary he is responsible for postings and transfers of top officials. Mr Lashari has replaced Ms Sethi as the prime minister’s principal secretary. She is now also looking after the health ministry which was previously under the control of Mr Lashari. It is primarily the health ministry over which the two have locked horns. Ms Sethi held the powerful post of PSPM for nearly three years and quit it in January last year. Initially, she was comfortable with the choice of Mr Lashari as her successor. Both the cabinet division secretary and the PSPM have to work in close liaison because of the nature of their assignments and report directly to the prime minister. At the time of Ms Sethi’s transfer she was given the additional charge of health ministry, but soon after the reshuffle relations between the two started deteriorating. Ms Sethi made some changes in the ministry which didn’t go down well with Mr Lashari. The second blow came when investigations were ordered into the import of a drug allowed by Mr Lashari as secretary health. The issue of import of Ephedrine, a controlled substance used by the pharmaceutical industry, is now being investigated by the FIA. The Senate’s standing committee on health has taken notice of the matter. The turf war intensified with the strikes by health employees in various government hospitals in Islamabad. Last year, Ms Sethi as health secretary had introduced new health personnel structure (HPS) for medical professionals posted at the federal government hospitals. The HPS was criticised by young doctors who said it would only benefit senior doctors. Mr Lashari also opposed the move. The controversy led to strikes in hospitals and the government had to revert to old pay-scale system. Former establishment secretary Sohail Ahmad, who was suspended by the prime minister in July last year apparently for following a Supreme Court order, was seen as a close friend of Ms Sethi. Mr Lashari had shared bad blood with Mr Ahmad since the two worked under former chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi in Punjab. Mr Ahmad was sacked for transferring an FIA official without consulting the prime minister before implementing the SC order. If the grapevine is to be believed, Mr Lashari played an instrumental role in making up the mind of the prime minister to suspend Mr Sohail. Since then Mr Lashari has been holding the charge of establishment division which many in the bureaucracy see as a unique arrangement because as establishment division secretary Mr Lashari forwards files relating to postings and transfers of bureaucrats to himself as PSPM for approval by the prime minister. Sources close to Ms Sethi claim that her files relating to health sent for prime minister’s approval are delayed by Mr Lashari. According to them, the two exchanged harsh words when Ms Sethi complained to the prime minister about the alleged delays. They also have serious differences over the management of the polio cell. Mr Lashari as health secretary ran polio campaigns for many years and feels that he should have a say in the matter even though he is no longer part of the health ministry. |
Nargis Sethi faces tough questions in court
[CENTER][B]Nargis Sethi faces tough questions in court[/B][/CENTER]
ISLAMABAD: Defence and Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that no summary had been received from the law ministry about reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari when she worked as principal secretary to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from Sept 23, 2010 to Jan 17, 2011. Appearing before a seven-member bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk hearing a contempt of court case against Mr Gilani, she acknowledged that two summaries had been received, one on May 21 and the other on Sept 23, 2010. According to the two summaries, then law minister Babar Awan and law secretary Pir Masud Chishti had informed the premier that there was no use of writing a letter to the Swiss authorities because the cases filed against President Zardari in Swiss courts had already been withdrawn. The summaries also said that the court orders were not implementable. It was also pointed out that the president was supreme commander of the armed forces and part of parliament. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel for Mr Gilani, defended his client by saying that the prime minister had acted on the advice in accordance with the rules of business, but said the advice might be wrong. At one stage Mr Ahsan asked Nargis Sethi what was the normal course of business if a federal secretary sought not to comply with the directions of the prime minister and she said he would have to revert back in the form of a summary. When the court interrupted and observed rules of business were known to all, Mr Ahsan said the question was relevant as only the prime minister was being tried and no-one else. The bench observed that Mr Ahsan could not cross-examine his own witness, but the counsel said he could prove that it was not a cross-examination. “In a cross-examination you ask questions which are responded merely by saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’.” Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq raised an objection and said that Ms Sethi could testify only her own signature on the summaries and not of other persons. He said the summaries could be testified by the one who had prepared them. Ms Sethi told the court that the prime minister’s engagements included everything listed in the rules of business and “much more than that”. Mr Ahsan kept on posing questions and the court found many of them irrelevant. He, however, stressed that it was essential to bring certain things on record to make out a defence case. Ms Sethi said the prime minister had a close relationship with parliament and met lawmakers on a daily basis and being the head of a coalition government he also held frequent meetings with allies. He also met dignitaries preceded by briefings. She said the prime minister presided over 104 meetings of the cabinet, 10 meetings of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet and attended 90 per cent of the parliamentary sessions and proceeded on foreign visits for around 30 times during the time she worked with him. Ms Sethi told the court that the apparent purpose of questions on the engagement of the prime minister was to show that he did not have time to minutely go through all the files reaching him. On an average, he sees 1,000 files in a month. Ms Sethi said that during the period she served with the prime minister, he never demonstrated any bitterness or ill-will against the judge of an accountability court who had sentenced him for 10 years with a fine of Rs100 million. He spent five years in jail and the sentence was set aside in appeal. She said the prime minister was in Bhutan when the promotion of 54 officers, including herself, was reverted by the Supreme Court and when she conveyed the message to him he said the court orders should be implemented without any demur. Justice Ejaz Chaudhry pointed out that she (Nargis Sethi) was No. 54 on the seniority list but was promoted despite that. He remarked that there were a number of instances where the court orders were not implemented. Ms Sethi said when Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was evicted from his official residence the prime minister intervened and restored his accommodation. On another occasion, the prime minister went uninvited to a farewell dinner for Justice Ramday to improve relations between the judiciary and the executive. The hearing will continue on Thursday. [URL="http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/08/nargis-sethi-faces-tough-questions-in-court.html"]DAWN[/URL] |
CJ asked to take notice of civil servant slapping case
[B][CENTER]CJ asked to take notice of civil servant slapping case.[/CENTER][/B]
ISLAMABAD: In the crowd of around three million generally indifferent, impotent and insensitive members of the civilian bureaucracy in Pakistan, a lone voice of a daring lady officer Anita Turab has approached the Chief Justice of Pakistan in the Waheeda Shah slapping case for a remedy to the humiliation that has hit the entire civil service of Pakistan, writes Ansar Abbasi. Belonging to the District Management Group, the young lady officer, known for her commendable struggle to revive the impartiality and integrity of the civil service, Anita Turab has sought from the Chief Justice of Pakistan suo moto action against the Sindh government and the contesting candidate Waheeda Shah, who had slapped the election commission’s woman official inside a polling station in Tando Muhammad Khan. “The petitioner opted recourse for the interference of the apex court as there was no other effective, efficacious and alternate remedy or institution to whom the petitioner could revert. Here the guilt extends far beyond Ms Shah and the humiliation impacts the complete civil services and law abiding citizens,” Anita conveyed to the CJP. Instead of dealing with the Waheeda Shah incident in isolation, Anita expected from the top-most judge of the country to address the core issues pertaining to restoration of the dignity of the civil services and civil servants to enable them to play their part in the electoral process with utmost dignity and confidence. In this regard, she believes, ensuring security of tenure, apolitical placements and transparent promotions are a must. “Extraneous influences, like political persuasions, threats, inducements and temptations must be eliminated. The incident of Feb 25 is a typical example of the present state of morale of the civil servants since shorn of any protection of law to ward off recourse to similar degradation,” she pleaded in her petition. She added that “most civil servants wish to work in an environment where their self respect and dignity is not made vulnerable by all and sundry. A number of us feel committed to stand by a self-imposed code called ‘the Moral Revival’ being the flagship commitment to restore the lost dignity of the civil servants, to reclaim the classic independence of the institution through internal and external reforms,” her petition added. “Moral Revival” is a recent struggle launched by Anita and a few dozen other young officers to restore the lost dignity of civil servants by ensuring their depoliticisation and high integrity. Anita is the same officer who had spearheaded a silent protest by wearing an arm-band against the unceremonious removal of former secretary establishment Suhail Ahmad for following the Supreme Court’s order. She was perhaps the first and the only officer working under the federal government (Interior Ministry) who has put up a brave face but still could not inspire the crowd of three million. Anita, who is a shinning grade 19 officer, has also risked earning the wrath of the powerful and mighty by writing to the secretary establishment to seek security of term for the civil servants so that they could not be exploited and used as personal servants by the political masters. She also approached the chairman Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for the Commission’s key role to ensure and protect merit-based selections and appointments in the civil services. In the same spirit, the officer has now approached the Supreme Court for the sake of reclaiming the principles of good governance. She reminded the CJP that from time to time she had urged the relevant personnel management authorities, to seek corrective realignment of subjective practices in accordance with law, but the response has been feeble. “Nonetheless moral revival stands resolute,” added Anita. She told the CJP that she seeks to confront political interference in administrative matters and pursue the ‘moral revival’ of the civil services in Pakistan. “Our resolve is expected to enable us in our individual and collective capacity to discharge official duties in accordance with law with requisite degree of dignity and demonstrated self-esteem in our respective institutions of the state,” she said, adding that she was deeply shocked and aggrieved by the failure of the government of Sindh and its law enforcement agencies to prevent public humiliation of one of our lady colleagues, temporarily assigned to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan engaged in the discharge its constitutional obligations regarding bye-elections for PS 53 Provincial Assembly of Sindh. She added: “The above tragic incident is not an isolated occurrence where a potential lawmaker defied the rule of law and its due process by taking law into her own hands, disregarding Articles 4 and 5 obligations; it reflects a growing mindset in our polity against the civil servants as a class; in anticipation of her electoral victory, the accused acted as a self-appointed prosecutor, judge and executioner; however, realizing that her offence has been captured live, in a bid to derail the legal process, within 24 hours of the incident, the victim appears to have been forced towards apparent reconciliation as if the blatant trespass into ECP’s exclusive domain was a personal or tribal feud thereby making an absolute mockery of the Election Commission of Pakistan.” Anita did not hesitate to say that the incident is also symptomatic of an all-pervasive and corrosive attitude amongst those with political connections as if they were above the law and the civil services must act as their subservient tool, controlled through arbitrary placements, transfers and promotions of favourites to function with partial or complete servitude, despite categorical declaration of relevant law by this Hon’ble Court [PLD 1987 SC 304 at page 307]. As a citizen of Pakistan, Ms Waheeda Shah was not only liable under the criminal and electoral laws, she may be stripped of any option of holding public office in future; all political parties should also be subjected to specify a ‘Code of Conduct’ for their general membership, under the overall regulatory control of the ECP, Anita demanded. [URL="http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=12817&Cat=13"]Source[/URL] [B]( Anita Turab belongs to OMG 25th CTP not DMG)[/B] |
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