ISLAMABAD: High-ranking bureaucrats are retiring in wait for their promotion to the next grade, which has been stalled due to administrative issues and the prime minister’s busy schedule, sources have told Dawn.

A number of bureaucrats, who were eligible for promotion to BS-22 — the highest administrative grade — have retired in the lower grade after achieving the age of superannuation.

Their promotions couldn’t happen because a meeting of the High Powered Selection Board (HPSB) hasn’t taken place for the past 16 months due to the busy schedule of the prime minister who has to chair the meeting.

The last meeting of the HPSB, which promotes Grade 21 officers to Grade 22, was held in April 2023 during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) regime.

PM’s workload, absence of regular FPSC head hit selection board meetings, sources claim

Similarly, promotions of scores of bureaucrats in BS-19 to 21 are also stuck since there is no regular chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) for 13 months.

Under the Civil Servants Act, only a regular FPSC chairman can head the Central Selection Board (CSB), which takes care of the promotion of bureaucrats from Grades 19 to 21.

The elusive meeting After the Feb 8 general elections, the Establishment Division started the paperwork for the promotion of BS-21 officers and an HPSB meeting was scheduled on May 15.

However, it was postponed since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not available. Last month, the meeting was rescheduled again, but it has yet to take place.

A senior government officer told Dawn the government had inherited serious fiscal and law and order challenges, and the PM was busy dealing with them.

According to the officer, the promotion of civil servants would take place soon.

As per the law, the HPSB and CSB meetings should be held twice a year.

But the last meeting of CSB — convened on July 28, 2023 — deferred the promotions of several bureaucrats over non-submission of assets declaration.

The next CSB meeting is also not in sight as there has been no regular FPSC chairman since August 2023 when Shahid Ashraf Tarar resigned after being made caretaker federal minister.

While the affairs of FPSC are being looked after by one of its members, with an additional charge of the chairman, they can’t chair the CSB meeting as per the law.

Retired bureaucrats

The incumbent Anti-Money Laundering Authority director-general, Chaudhry Ehsan Sadiq, is among those who retired while waiting for the promotion.

Mr Sadiq was a BS-21 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) and retired on July 14, 2024.

He, however, was re-appointed as the National Anti-Money Laundering and Cou­n­ter Financing of Terrorism Authority (NAML-CFTA) DG for a period of three years.

Another BS-21 officer of PSP, Fayyaz Ahmed Dev, retired on April 24 without promotion to the next grade.

Ghulam Rasool Zahid, another PSP officer, currently posted in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Khaqan Murtaza of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) are slated to retire on Sept 30 and 18, respectively.

The Establishment Division has already notified the retirement of PAS, PSP and the Secretariat Group officers who would reach the age of superannuation in the next few months.

The retirements of BS-21 officers Hassan Iqbal, Mehmood Yousafzai, Alamgir Khan, Mohammad Farooq, Zahoor Ahmed, Saleem Khan, Dr Nawaz, Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan, Sualeh Ahmed Farauqui, Afzal Manzoor (PAS); Zubair Hashmi (PSP) and Shakeel Malik (Secretariat Group) have also been notified by the Establishment Division.

According to sources, stalled promotions have also created a shortage of officers eligible to be appointed to posts headed by a Grade-22 officer.Several posts, supposed to be filled by Grade-22 officers, in the PAS, PSP, Secretariat Group, Foreign Service, Pakistan Audit and Accounts Services, Inland Revenue Service, Pakistan Customs, Information Group and Economist Group are currently filled by Grade-21 officers.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2024