ISLAMABAD: As many as 3,000 posts, to be filled by candidates from Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), remain vacant in different government departments in Islamabad due to a ban on new recruitments and transfers.

This was stated by Kalsoom Parveen, the chairperson of the Senate standing committee on cabinet secretariat, while chairing a meeting of the committee here on Thursday.

It may be noted that before the general elections 2013, a ban on transfers and postings was imposed to ensure transparency in the elections. However, the PML-N government continued the ban even after forming the government. Though different ministries and departments, including the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and the Ministry of Interior, have sent summaries to the prime minister to lift the ban, the issue has still not be resolved.

Senator Parveen said a number of government employees who wanted to come to Islamabad from Fata and Balochistan due to genuine reasons cannot be transferred due to the ban.

Senate body told ban on recruitments, transfers and postings affecting departments’ efficiency

The government does not understand when people politely seek solution to their problems. However, the government realises the gravity of the situation when people take up weapons for their rights, she said.

The members of the committee were informed by officials of the Ministry of Interior, CADD and the Establishment Division that because of the ban not only a number of posts remained vacant in different departments but also the efficiency of the government departments had been affected.

Additional Secretary Interior Imtiaz Tajwar admitted that even the capital police had been suffering because of the ban on recruitments.

“Due to the ban on new recruitments, in 2009 as many as 464 retired personnel of the armed forces were hired for the police. Extensions were given to these soldiers many times but their services could not be regularised. However, now it has been decided to regularise their services,” he said.

Senator Parveen said officers working on the same seats for years should immediately be transferred.

Contractual employees

The committee was told that the services of a number of employees were regularised under the previous government, but their case was still pending in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

During the PPP’s tenure, the Supreme Court directed the government to regularise the services of contractual employees. A regularisation committee headed by the then minister Khursheed Shah was constituted which regularised thousands of contractual employees in different ministries.

However, some teachers approached the IHC after they could not be regularised. The IHC instructed the government to see if the process adopted for the regularisation of the employees was transparent.

Secretary Establishment Division Nadeem Ahsan Afzal informed the committee that the court had not instructed the government to dismiss any employee. However, the employees’ documents are being scrutinised, he added.

Senator Kamil Ali Agha said all contractual employees should be regularised so that they would work efficiently without any disturbance.

“Moreover, facilities should be provided to the employees. Officials of the Islamabad police are working without facilities so their efficiency will be affected,” he said.

Members of the committee were of the view that all the contractual employees should be regularised on Independence Day.

Earlier, in reply to a question, the secretary establishment told the committee members that there was no proposal to increase the age of superannuation of government employees from 60 to 63 years.

“The age of superannuation for judges is 65 years. However, there are some scientists and experts who are working in important labs who have been given exemption from the age limit,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2014