ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: The Establishment Division is yet to implement the recommendations of a Senate special committee that call for striking a balance between the role of Punjab and other provinces in bureaucracy by promoting to BPS-21 officers from neglected and less-developed regions.
The Senate was informed in a written reply here on Friday that the recommendations of the Committee on Promotion Policy “are in process of implementation”.
The Establishment Division had faced severe criticism for promoting officers mostly from Punjab and ignoring some good bureaucrats from Balochistan and other less-developed areas.
It had justified its action by stating that often officers from Punjab fulfilled requirements of the “Best of the Best” promotion formula. However, voices were raised against this in both houses of the parliament, prompting the Senate to constitute a special committee to probe into the matter.
The committee found a lot of resentment among officers from smaller provinces, tribal areas, Northern Areas and AJK who were left out in the process. It was informed that such moves by the Establishment Division could only further strengthen the already strong role of the Punjab in the national bureaucracy and could create an air of distrust and prove dangerous for national cohesion in the long run.
The special committee had also received many complaints about the justification of the introduction of the “Best of the Best” policy in federal state like Pakistan with so much diversity and an unending sense of deprivation among the smaller provinces and regions such as NAs and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Resultantly, the Senate committee recommended that even if no officer was found eligible for promotion from these neglected areas under the “Best of the Best” formula, those officers from such regions be put on the promotion list who fulfilled other prescribed conditions like never facing disciplinary action, not involved in corruption and had good reputation.
And, such officers who fulfil other conditions should be compared region-wise, the committee had recommended. It advised a threshold of 75 points that are assigned to officers on the basis of their internal annual reports and efficiency.
The committee, which was formed in April, had recommended that the prime minister should also review the promotion of officers on merit from Sindh, Balochistan and Fata - the three regions where deprivation was on its peak.
The committee had made the recommendation after Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, on July 29, 2006, promoted certain officers who were not recommended for promotion by the Central Selection Board (CSB) headed by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) chairman. It was of the view that the prime minister should also promote officers from the neglected areas who did not fulfil the “Best of the Best” formula.
The Senate committee had also suggested changes to the composition of the Central Selection Board aimed at giving the board a “true federal character”.
The CSB as advised by the committee included FPSC chairman as its head and four other main members - Central Board of Revenue (CBR) chairman Abdullah Yousaf representing Punjab, Secretary Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Rasool Bakhsh Baloch representing Sindh (rural), Chief Secretary Sindh Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi representing NWFP and Secretary Youth Affairs Ghiasuddin Ahmed representing Balochistan.