PESHAWAR: A group of Provincial Management Services (PMS) officers has demanded the constitution of service reforms commission, alleging discrimination against provincial officers at the hands of federal officers.

The officers said that they had presented a charter of their demands to a government committee, but added that talks would not be held till the province’s top bureaucratic head was removed.

Though the officers introduced themselves as representing the Provincial Civil Service Officers Association, none of its officers including its chairman, president, senior vice-president, vice-president or general secretary were present in the press conference.

An office-bearer of the association offered “no comment” when asked if it endorsed the officers’ call for the removal of the chief secretary.

Demand constitution of service reforms commission

Provincial Civil Service Officers Association is meeting Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Monday (tomorrow) to work toward amicable resolution of the problem. However, senior officers privately say that their younger and junior colleagues’ intransigent and belligerent stand is impeding their efforts.

“The removal of chief secretary is a precondition for negotiations with the government on our charter of demands,” said Fahd Ikram Qazi, a provincial management service (PMS) officer, while speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Saturday.

Flanked by several PCS/PMS officers, including Sardar Bahadur, Shah Zeb, Muntazir Khan, Noorul Amin and Zeeshan Abddullah, he suggested constitution of a commission for the civil service reforms.

About their demands, he said that the case of PMS vs PAS (Pakistan Administrative Services) was pending with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for over one year, but it was yet to exercise its powers under Article 240(b) of the Constitution to approve it.

He said that the number of PAS officers serving in the province was hardly 100 whereas PCS had the strength of about 700 officers, but the PAS officers had occupied all the key provincial positions while the premier service of the province was marginalised.

Mr Qazi said that all the PAS officers (BS-17 to BS-22) posted to the province performed provincial functions, which was negation of the provincial autonomy granted under the 18th amendment.

He said that several PCS/ PMS officers had been victimised through unwarranted inquiries, saying that all de-novo inquiries needed to be concluded/filed, and action taken against the initiators of such ‘biased’ inquiries.

At least two of the four officers spearheading the protest are currently facing inquiries including its spokesman, Fahd Ikram Qazi. Mr Qazi rubbishes all the charges.

“There are over 90 officers working on deputation from various federal and provincial departments serving at our schedule positions thus affecting our postings and promotions. They may be repatriated accordingly,” he said.

He said that there was no chance of promotion of grade-17 PMS officers in the next one decade in the province, adding that as many as 102 scheduled positions were lying vacant in various provincial departments for PAS officers.

He said that removal of chief secretary would be a precondition for holding further talks with the government. He said that there was huge mistrust between the government and bureaucracy, which was impeding the resolution of the issue amicably.

Mr Qazi also alleged that the incumbent chief secretary, through his close officers, had offered him to select a place of posting, but he denied the offer.

He said that the carrot and stick policy was not acceptable to the PMS officers and asked the government to take prompt steps for reforms in the civil services.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2016