ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the history of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), an officer of BS-18 has been appointed as a board member.

The federal government, the other day, appointed Abdullah Khurram Niazi, a BS-18 officer of the provincial management group, Punjab, presently posted as DG Environment, CDA, on deputation, as member, environment, CDA, on an acting charge basis with immediate effect and until further orders.

Before recently joining CDA, Mr Niazi was serving in Pakistan Cricket Board as director, domestic cricket.

He recently joined CDA as DG Environment and has now been appointed acting Member.

Interestingly, in the Environment wing, there are several senior officers of BS-19 (specialising in the field of environment), and they will work under Mr Niazi, who is junior to them in terms of scale.

In the past, BS-20 officers held positions of members; however, in many cases, the federal government appointed BS-19 officers as well as board members, and currently, several BS-19 officers are serving as members of CDA boards.

Meanwhile, the promotions of seven Civil Engineers from BS-19 to BS-20 have been pending for one year.

CDA management referred their case to the Ministry of Interior last year to hold a DPC meeting to finalise promotions; however, it is still pending, causing unrest among the officers. “CDA employees have no issue with the appointment of a BS-18 officer as a member, but what fault are our own officers? Why were they not being given their due promotions? I personally know that the promotions of many officers are due for the last year,” said a source in CDA.

Abolition of vacant/dormant posts

Meanwhile, CDA’s management, in line with the federal government’s policy on austerity measures and right-sizing, abolished 1062 posts, including 100 posts of Stenotypist and 962 posts of Beldars. CDA’s administration wing issued a notification in this regard.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2026