For the first time in the history of Punjab, a comprehensive promotion board minutely observed the cases of senior officers. In the hours-long Provincial Selection Board-I (PSB-I) marathon meeting chaired by the Punjab chief secretary, more than 100 officers were considered for promotions to grade 19 and above.
An official source in the PSB said that Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal closely observed the promotion cases. He said that the CS had conveyed that only competent, clean and hardworking officers with the best service record would be promoted. “The CS gave a message to all the officers to focus on service delivery if they wanted promotions to next grades,” he added. He said that Afzal didn’t consider officers who slightly missed the strict promotion criteria. Many officers were put under watch to improve their performance, he said.
As per the official documents, 70 officers were cleared for promotion both on regular basis and on an officiating basis, while about 30 were deferred – not considered for promotion, withheld, or reverted.
As per the documents, four officers of the Provincial Secretariat Service (PSS) were considered for promotion to grade 21, including Zahid Hussain, Tahir Raza Hamdani, Muhammad Shafiq and Tanveer Jabbar. Zahid and Hamdani were cleared while Shafiq and Jabbar could not land a promotion. The case of Shafiq Ahamad was deferred owing to some confusion. It has been said that the Anti-Corruption Establishment had wrongly reported against him.
Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officers who were also promoted to grade 21, as sources said, include Naseer Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Javaid Nasim on a regular basis, while Ahsan Waheed was promoted on an officiating basis.
For promotion to grade 20 as a secretary or commissioner or equivalent posts, some 27 officers were considered (19 PCS and 8 PSS officers). Out of 19 PCS officers, seven were promoted, 10 were deferred, and two were not considered for promotion as they lacked mandatory training. Likewise, out of eight PSS officers, five were promoted, one was deferred, and two were not considered.
For promotion to grade 19 as additional secretaries, additional commissioner or deputy commissioner etc., 70 officers – both PCS (45) and PSS (25) – were considered for promotion. Out of 45 PCS officers, 31 were promoted, 12 were deferred, and two were not considered for promotion. Meanwhile, out of 25 PSS officers, 17 were promoted, six were deferred, one officer was reverted, and one was withheld.
The Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD), on the other hand, has finally issued advice on the promotions of the officers from grade 19 to 21. The proposals for postings against the new positions are also underway. The summary for the chief minister will soon be moved.
Minute Mirror has learnt that the officers who were cleared for promotion have started lobbying for securing lucrative postings. Sources have suggested that at present, there is no strict and objective criterion for transfers and postings so the officers are in the race to use their approach, both political and administrative. However, the competent, honest and diligent officers with no ‘backing’ would suffer in the given scenario, they stated.
Meanwhile, PCS officers promoted from grade 19 to 20 as secretaries, commissioners or equivalent posts include Abdul Shaqoor, Ahmad Mustajab Karamat, Shoaib Iqbal Syed, Hamza Ali, Rashad Ahmad Khan, Aftab Ahmad, and Syeda Malaika. Some officers’ cases were deferred for promotion, including Qasim Siddiqui, Ayyub Khan, Ibrahim Junaid, Imtiaz Nasir, Naeem Iqbal and Najaf Iqbal (both ineligible on account of not having done training), Amtul Qadoos, Zahid Iqbal Awan, Maqbool Ahmad, Tanveer Ahmad Warriach, Rana Shoukat, Rafid Ahmad Malhi.
Eight PSS officers were considered for promotion to grade 20. Three were promoted on regular basis, two on an officiating basis, two were not considered and one was deferred. Those promoted include Ambreen Sajid, Yawar Mehdi, Jehangir Anwar, Shafaat Ali, Zubair Waheed. Those who were not considered or put under the watch included Tariq Mehmood, Hafiz Anees ur Rehman and Muhammad Afzal Nasir Khan.
PCS officers promoted to grade 19 include Amin Awais, Naveed Shahzad Mirza, Saif Jappa, Farooq Rasheed, Afzaal Ahmad Qamar, Aysha Ahmad, Subhan Butt, Nouman Hafeez, Saima Yunus, Muhammad Shakir, Arif Umar Aziz, Khalid Tippu, Zahid Ikram. Some officers were promoted on the officiating basis, including Faisal Atta, Aamer Ahmad Khan, Arshad Manzoor and others.
The cases of officers deferred include Riaz Khan, Arshad Mehmood, Rehana Farhat, Shahid Farid and others.
As per sources, the PCS officers considered for promotion from BS 18 to BS 19 include PMS chief Naveed Shahzad Mirza, Subhan Butt, Aysha Ahmad, Ejaz Munir, Dr. Afnan, Hussain Bahadur, Dr. Noor Muhammad Awan and others.
The PSS officers considered for promotion from BS 18 to BS 19 include Fareeha Tajummal, Ghulam Saghir Shahid, Imran Akram Chohan, Ahmad Kamal, Rizwana Urooj, Jafar Khan, Tariq Awan, Muhammad Rashid, Muhammad Hamza, Khalid Parvez, Muhammad Sajid Bashir, Abdul Rauf, Zahid Manzoor, Kashif Manzoor, Amanullah and others.
Tariq Farooqa’s recommendation was withheld owing to the Murree incident while one officer Hussnain Muzamil was reverted to grade 18. Sources said that Muzamil faces inefficiency and corruption charges. It was learnt that Farooqa was wrongly implicated in the Murree tragedy as his job description depicts that he was not responsible for field operations at all.
An officer on the condition of anonymity said that the recommendations of PSB-I were highly objectionable as they had deferred the majority of senior officers apparently due to traditional bias and with the motive to halt the promotions of PMS officers intentionally.
The provincial service officers association, he urged, must show strong protest against this high-handedness. However, a former association president said that officers were promoted and deferred on merit, which was a good omen. An officer questioned the role of the special branch and anti-corruption reports in the board.
Moreover, the promoted officers have urged the chief secretary to put in place strict criteria for transfers and postings. They said that the principle of the right person for the right job should be exercised instead of resorting to favouritism.
