ISLAMABAD: The Central Selection Board (CSB) is going to revisit the May 2015 promotion of powerful bureaucrats, including the secretary to the prime minister, which may start another round of litigation.

The CSB is scheduled to meet on June 26 to re-examine the promotion of about 400 senior bureaucrats.

These civil servants had been promoted to grade 20 and 21. However, scores officers who were either superseded or their promotions deferred challenged the promotions saying the Establishment Division introduced a controversial formula under which the CSB was given a five-mark veto power to deprive them of their right to promotion.

These five marks were given an overriding effect on the remaining 95 marks. It meant despite securing 95pc marks, an officer cannot be promoted unless the CSB granted them at least three out of the five marks.

On Supreme Court directions, Central Selection Board is set to re-examine promotions of about 400 officers made in 2015

The promoted officers included PM’s Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, Inspector General of Police Sindh A.D. Khwaja, acting Secretary Ministry of Education and Professional Training Shoaib Mir Memon, Civil Service Academy Director General Maroof Afzal, acting Secretary Petroleum Sikandar Sultan, acting Secretary National Security Council Amir Khan, Punjab Communication and Works Secretary Mohammad Mushtaq Ahmed, Additional Secretary Establishment Division Aamir Ashraf Khwaja and several additional secretaries.

In the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) cadre, the officers requiring revalidation of their promotions included AJK IGP Bashir Ahmed, Intelligence Bureau Joint Director General Mohammad Salman, Punjab Constabulary Commandant Husain Asghar and Balochistan Constabulary Commandant Dr Mujeebur Rehman Khan.

Over 60 bureaucrats had challenged the CSB’s recommendations of May 2015 in the Islamabad High Court. A single-member bench of the court set aside the promotions, which was later upheld by a two-member division bench of the IHC. However, since the Establishment Division filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, the promoted officers retained their posts. The apex court last month also sustained the IHC verdict and asked the Establishment Division to reexamine the cases by excluding the controversial formula of five marks. Since the CSB is being convened after a lapse of about six months, the officers whose promotions were due by January 2017 onward have been expecting that the board would also examine fresh promotions.

However, a circular sent to different ministries and divisions by the Establishment Division on May 2 sought “updated proposal duly containing latest status including disciplinary proceedings etc of all the officers considered in the CSB meeting held on May 5 to 11, 2015.”

Unhappy with the circular, an officer who was expecting that the CSB would take up fresh cases, including his promotion, said the Establishment Division seemed interested only in validating the promotions of senior bureaucrats who were looking for further promotion in grade 22 in July.

Interestingly, the officers whose names were not recommended in May 2015 also expressed a similar apprehension.

A bureaucrat claimed that multiple scenarios and options were being manipulated in the power corridors to protect their policy of pick and chose.

For instance, he added, the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) for 2016 was only being considered for those whose promotions had been deferred, not those promoted.

The 15th Common has occupied top slots as most of the grade 21 bureaucrats from this batch are working as incharge/acting secretaries in different ministries. They are supposed to sign the ACRs of their seniors who were not promoted in May 2015 and hence in the race of getting the same grade in the upcoming CSB.

Another officer said, “the officers promoted in 2015 are now being given acting charge of federal secretaries. This has already placed them in the trajectory for grade 22.”

Ironically, these officers may actually be sitting and deciding the promotions of their erstwhile seniors, he said.

According to him, since the officers promoted in 2015 were likely to be given benefit of two years experience after the CSB revalidates their promotions, they would qualify for promotion in grade 22 and the seniors who were not promoted two years ago have to keep waiting.

He said the officers were planning to challenge the outcome of the CSB in case the Establishment Division or the CSB tried to manipulate the promotion cases.

When contacted, Secretary Establishment Syed Tahir Shahbaz said the division in compliance to the Supreme Court order had sought proposals from the ministries and departments which would be submitted to the CSB.

He, however, said the CSB was being convened to examine the May 2015 cases since the promotions of the December 2016 CSB were still under litigation. The Establishment Division is not going to place cases of fresh promotions before the board until the court decides the matter, he added.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2017