ISLAMABAD: In clear departure from the stated policy of the present government not to allow extensions to retiring officers of the federal departments, the ministry of law and justice has rehired eight bureaucrats after they attained the age of superannuation.
 
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has recently promoted a significant number of junior officers to BPS 21 & 22 to replace retiring officers who invariably attempt to get re-employment in their respective departments at the cost of their juniors.

The law and justice division is perhaps the only federal government department where seven of its officers working in BPS-21 as senior joint secretaries and one in BPS-18 as finance and accounts officer have been re-employed.

In all eight cases, ‘public interest’ has been cited as the sole reason for asking these officers to carry on their services who otherwise had attained the age of retirement.

In response to an unstarred question by Ms Shakeela Khanam Rashid, the National Assembly was informed on Saturday that the ministry of law and justice had retained these officers to look after its affairs exclusively in public interest.

The ministry of law and justice is working without a regular minister since the election of former law minister Farooq H. Naik as Chairman Senate.

In a detailed written response, the house was informed that Ghulam Rasool, a senior consultant in BPS-21, has been re-employed since after his retirement the ministry’s work relating to international contracts and agreements was suffering to a great deal.

‘The officer has valuable experience in the field; hence, he has been taken back on contract in public interest.’

Raja Abdullah Khan, Mansoor Ali Khan, Attaullah Bangash, Mohammad Akbar Achakzai, Riaz Mehmood and Syed Sultan Ahmed retired as senior joint secretaries in BPS-21 and have been re-hired in the public opinion wing of the ministry.

The ministry argued that in pursuance of the national judicial policy all judicial officers working in the wing were repatriated to the provincial judiciary which left the division completely handicapped.

‘Re-employment of judicial officers is inevitable for rendering opinion. The appointments have been made in public interest,’ it said.

Maqbool Hussain Malik, who retired as finance and accounts officer in BPS-18, has also been rehired by the ministry. In response to the question, the ministry said the post of finance and accounts officer was filled on deputation basis by officers of audit and accounts group.

The auditor general of Pakistan was requested to provide services of a suitable officer and in reply it was stated that due to shortage of officers no such official could be provided.

The accounts officer is responsible for assisting the principal accounting officer in matters relating to budget and audit. Being an important position, the re-employment of the officer was made in public interest, it stated.