ISLAMABAD: The establishment division has issued show-cause notices to around 50 senior bureaucrats after scrutinising their cases under the directory retirement rules that enable the federal government to send civil servants on forced retirement.

The officers in BS-20 to BS-22 grades would have to appear before authorised officers to defend their cases, which were examined for forced retirement by a committee in April, sources in the establishment division told Dawn on Tuesday.

The sources explained that the committee, headed by Federal Public Service Commission chairman Zahid Saeed, had submitted its recommendations to the prime minister as he was the competent authority in this matter. After his approval, the officers recommended for directory retirement were being given an opportunity of hearing, they added.

The authorised officers after hearing them would submit a report to the authority concerned, the sources said, adding that the cases would be finalised on the basis of recommendations/ findings of the authorised officer.

Those being considered for directory retirement include officers of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), Secretariat Group and others cadres of the civil bureaucracy, the sources said.

The Civil Servants (Directory Retirement from Service) Rules, 2020, were formulated and issued in January this year with an aim to purge the civil bureaucracy of ‘incompetent’ officers.

The rules provide grounds for directory (forced) retirement that include adverse remarks in three personal evaluation reports (PERs) or three average PERs.

Other grounds for directory retirement include twice supersession by the Central Selection Board (CSB), Departmental Selection Board (DSB) or Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC), as the case may be, or twice not recommended for promotion by the high-powered selection board.

An officer found guilty of corruption or who has entered into plea bargain or voluntary return with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or any other investigation agency, or placed in category “C” by the promotion board, will be sent home under the retirement rules.

According to Rule 5 of the Directory Rules, the retirement committee will recommend action against the officer to the competent authority.

As per Rule 6, if the competent authority agrees with the recommendation, a show-cause notice will be issued to the civil servant providing him “the opportunity of personal hearing if so requested by civil servant concerned”.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2021