ISLAMABAD: The high-powered selection board on Friday considered senior civil servants of different cadres and approved promotion of some bureaucrats, including Federal Investigation Agency Director General Wajid Zia and former Sindh police chief Kaleem Imam, in BS-22, sources said.

The selection board, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, also comprised PM’s Adviser on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, Special Assistant Dr Shahzad Arbab, secretaries of establishment division, cabinet division and other senior bureaucrats.

However, a formal notification of the promotions had not been issued till Friday evening.

Most of the officers whose promotion was approved belonged to the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), formerly known as District Management Group, as there were 43 eligible PAS officers of BS-21, sources told Dawn.

PM chaired the selection board

The PAS officers promoted to the top grade are Balochistan Chief Secretary Fazeel Asghar, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Matahir Niaz Rana, Secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan Dr Nazir Akhtar, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Secretary Mohammad Sualeh Faruqui, former health secretary Dr Tanvir A. Qureshi, who has been awaiting posting, Mohammad Mushtaq Chandna, Khaqan Bahadur, Munir Azam and Dr Ismat Tahira.

The sources said that incumbent FIA DG Wajid Zia of the Police Service of Pakistan and former Sindh IG Kaleem Imam were also promoted to BS-22.

The senior most officer of Military Land and Cantonment (MLC) cadre Masood Chaudhry was also promoted to the top grade, the sources said, adding that he was the third MLC officer promoted to BS-22 since a post of this cadre had been created in 2014.

Commerce and Trade Group officer Dr Yousaf Khan, who is currently working as commercial consular in Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul, was also promoted to BS-22.

The sources said that the board also promoted four officers of Pakistan Foreign Service, three Pakistan Audit and Accounts Group, two Income Tax Group officers, one officer from Customs and Pakistan Postal groups each.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2020