PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the provincial chief secretary and advocate general to respond to a petition challenging the allocation of three per cent quota for the ministerial staff of the commissioner and deputy commissioner’s offices in the provincial management service (PMS) instead of the secretariat’s employees.

Notices were issued by a bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal for the response after a preliminary hearing into a petition jointly filed by office-bearers of three associations of the secretariat’s ministerial staff against the Oct 10, 2022, notification issued by the chief secretary for changes to the Provincial Management Services Rules, 2007.

The petitioners include Civil Secretariat Superintendents, Assistants and Clerks Association president Zafar Khan, Information Technology Staff Association president Qaiser Khan and PS and PA Stenographer Association senior vice-president Tasawar Iqbal.

They said the notification changed the PMS Rules reducing 20 per cent share of tehsildars in PMS posts to be filled through promotion and assigning three per cent of it to the ministerial staff of the commissioner and deputy commissioner’s offices instead of allocating the same for the secretariat staff.

The bench observed that as the petitioners had challenged amendments to the rules, it would be appropriate to issue a notice to the advocate general for response.

Petition challenges allocation of PMS posts for members of ministerial staff

Lawyer Mohammad Farooq Afridi appeared for the petitioners and said the PMS Rules, 2007, were amended in an illegal manner as the mandatory cabinet approval wasn’t there.

He requested the court to declare that notification illegal.

The lawyer also sought orders for respondents, including the chief secretary, to allot proportional promotion quota on “strength-based rationalisation” in the PMS to the petitioners and other members of the Civil Secretariat’s ministerial staff.

Mr Afridi said before the creation of the PMS, the province had two provincial civil service groups, including Provincial Civil Service Executive Group and Secretariat Group, which were governed by their respective rules.

He added that the government introduced the PMS in 2007 and formulated rules for its functioning.

The counsel said for filling the BPS-17 PMS posts, the government had allotted 50 per cent quota by initial recruitment through Public Service Commission and 50 per cent quota by promotion.

He said out of the 50 per cent promotion quota, 20 per cent was allotted to secretariat group comprising superintendents and private secretaries, 20 per cent to tehsildars and 10 per cent quota through in-service exam to the superintendents, private secretaries, personal assistants, assistants, senior scale stenographers, data entry operators and senior and junior clerks.

Mr Afridi said the Board of Revenue, the parent department of tehsildars, had sent a letter to the establishment department on Jan 10, 2019, suggesting reduction of the 20 per cent quota of tehsildars for being over and above the sanctioned strength of tehsildars.

He added that the quota was irrational, so half of it should be specified for members of his clients’ organisations.

The lawyer complained that the respondents notified reduction of the tehsildar quota by three per cent and awarded it to private secretaries and superintendents of the commissioner and deputy commissioner offices to “accommodate three favourites of the government.” He added that the establishment department formally asked those men afterwards to attend a mandatory training course for promotion.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022