LAHORE, Nov 15: Several PSS officers are filing an application with the chief secretary requesting him to cancel a selection (promotion) board meeting which is scheduled to be held on Friday (today) as it will deprive them of their right to promotion.

The petition which was being signed by the officers concerned on Thursday would be submitted to Chief Secretary Nasir Khosa before the PSB-I meeting he is schedule to chair.

The PSS officers’ plea is to give a verdict on the report of a committee which the chief secretary had constituted to settle the seat quota between the two groups of the provincial service – the PCS and the PSS.

The PSS officers want revision of the seat sharing formula between them and the PSC officers. The current ratio for the PCS and the PSS is 7-3 which the latter wants at 6-4.

To resolve the conflict, the chief secretary had constituted a committee under the provincial law secretary.

The petition says that the PSB and recommendations for promotion of PCS officers to the next higher grades will certainly consume the prospective share of PSS officers. Continuous consumption of vacant seats in senior scales will render the prospective relief to be provided to the PSS cadre in promotion ratio meaningless. The PSS officers will get their justified right in terms of more seats if the ratio is revised.

The petition says that any rationalization of ratio between the PCS and the PSS officers should be based on the present strength of the two services. Any discriminatory treatment meted out to the PSS officers in the past should not perpetuate or serve as an argument for continuing with the discriminatory regime.