ISLAMABAD: A recent Supreme Court judgement has jeopardised what would have otherwise been the smooth promotions of senior bureaucrats — including Secretary to Prime Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad, Sindh Inspector General A.D. Khwaja, Balochistan Chief Secretary Shoaib Mir Memon and several others — to grade 22.

Though the apex court has yet to issue a detailed order in the case regarding promotion of officers to grades 20 and 21 in May 2015, senior bureaucrats have already started discussing the possible implications of the short order, issued on March 13, 2017.

In the order, the court dismissed all appeals filed against an Islamabad High Court order in the matter, passed by a division bench in June last year.

In 2015, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had set aside the promotions of bureaucrats, directing the federal government to revise the promotion criteria and reconsider the promotions of officers whose names were deferred by the Central Selection Board (CSB).

Some 64 bureaucrats assailed the CSB’s recommendations and the controversial formula whereby the promotions were awarded, which was based on an office memorandum and gave the CSB the power to veto a civil servant’s promotion.

Officers awaiting promotion to grade 22 may have to face confirmation of their elevation to grade 21

After the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the appeals, the federal government has to deal with the promotion cases of bureaucrats in accordance with the decision of the IHC division bench.

The high court bench, consisting of Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, had set aside the office memorandum and directed the federal government to place the cases of all officers promoted or deferred before the CSB for fresh examination on the basis of the previous promotion policy.

However, since the IHC bench did not set aside the promotions and the matter was sub judice before the Supreme Court, the federal government did not convene the CSB to revisit the promotions of May 2015.

Subsequently, the officers promoted in 2015 to grade 21 are expecting further promotion to grade 22 after June this year, when the high-powered selection board is likely to meet and examine promotion cases.

“Since the apex court has dismissed all the appeals, the federal government is bound to refer the matter to the CSB again,” said a senior bureaucrat.

He said that officers who were sure of their promotion in grade 22 would now have to face the CSB again for the confirmation of their promotions to grade 21.

According to another officer, the controversy began in March 2013 when the CSB did not promote Orya Maqbool Jan to grade 21 when over 80 other officers were promoted to the same grade.

As a result of litigation, around 20 of these officers were reverted to grade 20, he said, adding that since these officers were promoted in the final days of the Pakistan Peoples Party regime, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) treated them as loyal to the previous government and denied them promotions in subsequent CSBs.

It is worth noting that the officers awaiting promotion to grade 22 are junior to those whose promotions were deferred or denied.

In case, the federal government places all promotion cases before the CSB again and the board promotes some seniors, officers who are in the queue right now may not be promoted.

The officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) awaiting promotion to grade 22 are Civil Service Academy Director General Maroof Afzal, Punjab Communication and Works Secretary Mohammad Mushtaq Ahmed, Additional Secretary Establishment Division Aamir Ashraf Khawaja and several additional secretaries.

In the police cadre, those awaiting promotions include AJK IG Bashir Ahmed and several additional inspectors general, including Ayub Qureshi, Mehr Kaliq Dad Lak, Intelligence Bureau Joint Director General Mohammad Salman, Punjab Constabulary Commandant Husain Asghar and Balochistan Constabulary Commandant Dr Mujeebur Rehman Khan, among others.

Advocate Mohammad Shuaib Shaheen, counsel for the promoted officers, told Dawn that since the apex court did not pass a verdict against the promotions, the officers would retain their existing positions and could be considered for further promotion as well.

In case the government refers their cases to the CSB, neither the board nor the prime minister would say that their earlier decision was wrong, he said.

When asked to comment, Establishment Division Secretary Syed Tahir Shahbaz said that he could not comment until a detailed verdict was issued in the case by the apex court.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2017