LAHORE: The Pakistan Administrative Service, being profoundly perturbed over the arrest of former director general of Lahore Development Authority Ahad Khan Cheema, has decided to hold its Punjab chapter elections and elect a body that may formally communicate at all forums.

Until now, Additional Chief Secretary Omer Rasul is leading the furore advocating that insult, disgrace and humiliation will not be tolerated at any cost.

Following a fairly attended PAS members’ meeting at Punjab Civil Officers Mess (PCOM) a day earlier to protest the arrest of Mr Cheema, the number of officials present at the protest meeting on Saturday reduced to a couple of dozen officers.

Sources in the PAS told Dawn that media bashing had restrained many officers from participating in the protest including locking their offices as well as suspending their official work.

The unlocking of additional chief secretary and additional secretary (welfare) offices also sent a warning to officers that they should be mindful of any activity that may land them in trouble.

Among other issues, the meeting agreed to immediately hold PAS Punjab chapter elections and elect a forum that should officially communicate with the PAS members as well as officers in other provinces and the federal government.

Talking to Dawn, following a ‘protest’ meeting at PCOM auditorium, ACS Omer Rasul categorically denied that he had locked his office. He said his staff was in office, while he was attending a meeting at PCOM on Friday.

Though, initially, he said he was the spokesperson on behalf of the PAS members, Mr Rasul quickly added that the PAS would be holding its Punjab chapter elections to constitute a formal forum to deal with the situation.

The PAS Punjab association may be elected with the show of hands, a source said.

Mr Rasul, who has also served as LDA DG, said it was intolerable for the PAS members that a senior officer be arrested in a manner as if he was a terrorist.

Regretting similar humiliation meted out to other PAS and PMS officials at the hands of law-enforcement agencies, he said, “Our protest is not for Ahad Cheema alone but the disgrace meted out to civil servants”.

Acknowledging that he has twice met Punjab Management Service (PMS) association leaders, he admitted that the PMS was still not standing with the PAS in its protest against the NAB action.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2018