Ignoring other areas, Buzdar after DG Khan’s uplift

Sources say officers from Lahore, South Punjab Secretariat often directed to visit DG Khan

In the latest development, the Punjab government Wednesday established a South Punjab Secretariat camp office at tehsil Taunsa of district DG Khan, Minute Mirror has learnt.

Official sources said that the concerned secretaries have been directed to perform their duties there.

Is Chief Minister Usman Buzdar following the footsteps of ex-CM Shehbaz Sharif, whose focus of development remained his hometown and Lahore?

As reflected in a recent notification issued by the South Punjab Secretariat, a point may arise that by focusing only on a specific region, rest of the province is not equally treated. It merits mentioning here that the incumbent CM hails from Taunsa Sharif, an area that borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

All agree that the remote and backward areas should be developed but not at the cost of other equally backward territories.

The much-needed and trumpeted South Punjab province is seen nowhere in the scenario but a split civil secretariat was established in Multan and Bahawalpur.

The top priority of the political elite stationed in the provincial capital, as officers disclose, is DG Khan.

Officers not only from Lahore but from the South Punjab Secretariat are often directed to visit DG Khan. They may ignore their official duties to monitor the speedy development in the region.

In a recent development, the Punjab government on the CM office’s directions notified that at least 12 administrative secretaries of South Punjab will remain stationed in tehsil Taunsa of DG Khan district. Other relevant staff will also accompany them.

As per the official documents, they are directed to inspect, review the development schemes of the respective departments in DG Khan. The top officers will also liaison with representatives, notables and the general public of the area for redressal of their problems. They will also visit and inspect the subordinate offices of the respective departments in the district. The progress reports of the secretaries’ visits, redressal of complaints and issues will also be submitted to the additional chief secretary (ACS) of South Punjab regularly.

According to the documents, on Monday, secretaries to local government (LG) and specialised healthcare will be duty officers while, on Tuesday, secretary primary and secondary healthcare department will accompany secretary LG. On Wednesday, the secretary of housing and urban development, and secretary of higher education and school education department will be present in Taunsa. Secretary agriculture and irrigation departments will be there on Thursday. Likewise, secretary to livestock, secretary of communication and works and secretary forestry, wildlife and fisheries will perform their duties in the tehsil.

Tariq Baig Advocate, a resident of northern Punjab, said there are some questions regarding the latest development by the Punjab government. He said that the deputation of secretaries to tehsil Taunsa means the field formation has failed to deliver. If secretaries are to work on the district level then there is no need for the lucrative offices of the deputy commissioner, additional DCs and assistant commissioners (ACs). The Civil Administration Act 2017 and subsequent amendment in the rules too further empowered all DCs & ACs to countersign ACRs of all the officers, meaning that they should monitor all the development schemes besides resolution of issues of the common man. When contacted, the DC of DG Khan didn’t respond.

Terming the secretaries’ duty in Tehsil Taunsa an odd act, a senior officer of South Punjab said that the civil officers have failed to deliver there. He said that it was not the job of the secretaries to act like tehsil level officers. He said that their job was to act as a bridge between the CM’s office and the field formations. The officers’ deputation also showed that there was no official business in the newly established secretariat, he said. If there was any, who will do it when they would be performing their duties in the tehsil level, he questioned. When contacted, ACS South Punjab Saqib Zafar too didn’t respond to the query of this scribe. Punjab government spokesperson Hassan Khawar was also not available for comment on the development despite repeated attempts.

Arshad Ali, a political activist, said during Shehbaz Sharif’s tenure a big chunk of the annual development programme (ADP), foreign loans and cleanliness funds were spent in Lahore. The then opposition led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was the major critic of that uneven strategy. However, the Shehbaz administration continued work on its political agenda and completed major development works including Mass Transit System. Metrobus and Orange Line can be cited as some mega projects besides dozens of bridges and underpasses. He also questioned the logic behind the creation of the Taunsa campus office of the secretariat.

Likewise, former premier Yousuf Raza Gillani approved a development package for Multan, his hometown. This tradition, Ali said, would damage the principle of equilibrium and promote adhocism. He said that this simply reflected that the district the CM hails from would be on the radar of development and other districts would be ignored. Ali said that the development should be inclusive, all-encompassing and holistic, not selected and specific to those who enjoy echelons of power.