LAHORE: The newly-posted Additional Chief Secretary, Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, says the additional assistant commissioners’ (AAC) 101 seats have been created to strengthen the governance system at tehsils level, while allowing little relief to assistant commissioners from workload.

The Punjab government is facing governance issues at grassroots level and needs young and active officers to take up governance and provide relief to people at their doorsteps.

The Provincial Management Service officers association is arguing that the AAC posts have been created to weaken the cadre and make their promotion aspects extremely bleak, when the cadre officers begin serving from additional assistant commissioner posts. The association also says the PAS officers-led government will dump the PMS officers in AAC posts and make room for their officers to be posted against decision-making posts.

The association representatives on Monday met the ACS and explained their concerns about the creation of AAC posts and abolition of section officers posts from the civil secretariat.

Defends abolition of section officer posts, says they were ‘almost redundant’ after automation

Speaking to Dawn, Sahoo said the government had decided to scrap the 101 SO posts because they were left with little or no work after the introduction of e-Filing and Office Automation System (e-FOAS) in the working of the civil secretariat. The young officers could not be left rusting in the secretariat rooms, he added.

He said the young and active PMS officers would now be assigned field assignments as there were several government institutions including schools and hospitals in tehsils and needed proper monitoring. “The AACs will be instrumental in strengthening the governance system in the province,” Sahoo added.

Answering a question about the PMS officers’ concerns about the inordinate delays in holding promotion boards, Sahoo assured that the promotion boards for the PMS officers would be organised on a fast track basis.

The association representatives are also expected to meet newly-posted S&GAD secretary Muhammad Jahanzeb to explain their concerns on Wednesday (tomorrow).

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2026