PESHAWAR: The posting of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) officers as assistant commissioners has caused a controversy as Provincial Management Service Officers Association has directed the officers belonging to its cadre not to relinquish their charge and demanded of the authorities to withdraw the posting orders.

Earlier on Saturday, the establishment department notified posting of 29 officers including 14 from PAS, recently posted to the province, as assistant commissioners. They are in Basic Pay Scale-17.

In a statement, PMS Officers Association said that it registered protest and expressed displeasure over the recently notified postings and transfers. It asked the chief secretary to withdraw the notification.

It said that the postings were a violation of merit wherein not only PMS officers were transferred out prematurely without any legitimate reason but at the same time the junior-most officers of the federal service were posted against important positions without assessing its negative impact on the state of governance in the province.

PMS Association asks its members not to relinquish their charge

“The fraternity gives a clear message to the chief secretary that no PMS officer shall relinquish his/her charge till the upholding of merit, fairness and transparency,” said the association.

The statement said that PAS officers were unconstitutionally posted in the provinces through a fraud agreement, which the establishment division claimed to be “confidential”.

“The so-called post sharing formula of 1993 has been changed from percentage to exact figures in each grade wherein the share of PAS in BPS-17 is 63 in number, which includes the posts of assistant commissioner, additional assistant commissioner, section officer, finance officer, secretary PFC and assistant director,” it said.

Besides, the association said that nonetheless, PAS officers were only posted against the post of assistant commissioner and not a single PAS officer was posted against the remaining categories of posts that adversely affected and shrank the chances of posting of PMS officers on the posts of assistant commissioner.

The statement said that posting of PAS officers against 63 allotted seats in BPS-17 should be equitably against all mentioned posts and not against one particular post leaving the rest. It added that the posting of PAS officers against 63 posts might be made as per the formula to ensure merit and justice.

“The recent transfer/postings are utterly against the fraudulent post sharing formula,” it alleged. It said that the actual share of PAS officers was nine while on the contrary 34 officers were posted to the excess of their illegal and unconstitutional share.

“The posting of PAS officers against one category of posts over and above its share is not only depriving the senior officers of the provincial services of their legitimate expectancy to posting but also creates a sense of deprivation among them,” said the association.

The PMS Association requested the government to withdraw the notification of postings and post DMG/PAS officers as SO, AD, FO, AAC, Secretary PSC as per their own ‘illegal and unconstitutional’ formula to ensure justice.

Noman Wazir, the joint secretary of PMS Association, told Dawn that 14 fresh officers belonging to PAS cadres were posted as assistant commissioners in all major districts of the province.

He said that at the same time, senior officers belonging to the PMS cadre were made officers on special duty or posted as section officers. “Many of these officers have been serving for the past three to four years,” he added.

Mr Wazir said that they directed the PMS officers not to relinquish charge to the newly-posted PAS officers.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2023