LAHORE: The federal government has reportedly stopped promotion of PAS (Pakistan Administrative Service) and PSP (Police Service of Pakistan) officials from BS-17 to BS-18 on an acting-charge basis with immediate effect.

The decision was recently taken during a meeting of the departmental promotion committee of the establishment division held in Islamabad to confirm promotion of the officials of the All Pakistan Service (PAS and PSP) from BS-17 to 18, both on a regular and acting charge basis.

Officials said previously the assistant superintendents of police (ASPs) and assistant commissioners (ACs) would be promoted to BS-18 on acting-charge basis before completing the mandatory five-year tenure in the BS-17 provided they had qualified compulsory training and departmental tests. They would get the BS-18 perks and postings but continue to get salaries of BS-17 till their confirmation in the next grade.

They said the immediate victims of the decision were the officials of both the service groups belonging to 41st common training programme (CTP) as none of them was promoted to BS-18 on acting charge basis as against the expectations.

The reasons for the decision was that the officials promoted to BS-18 without spending the mandatory five years in BS-17 were not properly prepared for handling administrative issues at higher level, they said. The ASPs should have full knowledge of the police station level supervision and the ACs as collectors of the sub-divisions and for that they must spend five years in BS-17, the meeting reportedly declared.

The meeting considered confirmation of promotion to BS-18 of the officials of the 40th Common who were earlier given the grade on acting-charge basis.

It considered promotion of 39 PSP officials working all over the country. Among them 18 are serving in Punjab, but only 11 of them were cleared for promotion.

Similarly, the meeting considered promotion of 84 PAS officials serving all over the country. Of the 29 serving in Punjab, just 16 were cleared for promotion.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2017