ISLAMABAD: Five civil servants were given awards in recognition of their excellent work, integrity and contribution towards improving service delivery.

Dr Vivek Anand, district surveillance officer, Omer Saeed, city police officer (CPO) Faisalabad, Ghulam Ali Mallah, secretary, Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC), Samina Altaf, chairperson, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Kohat, Dr Shair Zaman, endocrinologist Bolan Medical Hospital, Quetta were crowned at the annual award ceremony of the Integrity Icon Campaign.

According to a statement, this is an annual campaign to celebrate the most honest and hardworking government employees from all over the country.

The Integrity Icon campaign has completed its seven years in Pakistan and this time the campaign received more than 100 entries, which were examined by a jury comprising of the most capable and credible professionals from civil service, academia and civil society. Every year, five icons are honoured and celebrated for their public service spirit and honest work.

“What else could be the greatest satisfaction when you are responsible to serve the citizens and they feel satisfied that you are always there to bring some kind of hope, some kind of relief, some kind of justice and some kind of equality into their lives,” said Waqar Ahmed, secretary to the president, who was chief guest of the ceremony on Wednesday.

Ali Imran, chairman of the Accountability Lab, said: “The values of leadership (honesty, humility, curiosity, collaboration, and innovation) are universal and if we can connect these values to the ultimate goal for the existence of public service, civil servants will become more effective and capable of readily creating solutions to address the public’s grievances leading to more trust in state institutions.”

Member governance, innovation of reforms (Planning Commission of Pakistan) Dr Adnan Rafiq said: “Supporting, highlighting and celebrating the people who not only worked with the best of social traits but also inspired others is important work to do.”

Executive director of Accountability Lab Blair Glencorse said Integrity Icons started as a small campaign and was now a global campaign that has helped citizens in 13 countries to know about the wonderful work their civil servants are doing.

Danish Ambassador Jakob Linulf said: “For a nation to lessen corruption and honesty must be internalised by a majority of its citizens.” He said a high sense of public accountability produced good governance and strengthens the trust and openness among people.

Maria Ana Petrera, head of Green Growth and Sustainability, Embassy of Denmark said: “Green Transition requires active collaboration and innovation across all sectors including with current and future decision-makers. Youth is the future of Pakistan and the world. They represent a huge resource and are valuable democratic agents of change. We need their ambition and engagement to make the green transition a success in Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2023