Like a lamp that has no house of its own but where it goes, it spreads light. The officers also have the same fate. In countries where generalized officers are inducted in government services like Pakistan, they have no specific department to serve.
The Punjab government has reshuffled officers massively after the Supreme Court order that the votes of dissidents will not be counted in a no-confidence motion.
Many political analysts are of the view that the PML-N government has lost its moral, legal and numeral standing in the largest province of the country. The government should have avoided such actions till it manages a growing mandate from the house.
However, a PML-N political pundit has claimed that Chief Minister Hamza would not resign from office. He reiterated that there was no need for fresh mandate. In a couple of days, the new governor would be appointed by the federal government and things would go smoothly, he said.
He said that the PML-N believed in serving the community. There is no place for Usman Buzdar or Ch Parvez Elahi in the new setup, he clarified.
The transfers and postings of officers on such a massive level without mentioning any reasons give a message to the public that officers don’t matter but rulers do.
The free transfers of officers have become a very common phenomenon in Punjab. There are officials who could not complete a single year on one place of posting. It is very common among the public that officers are usually transferred by politicians when they don’t comply with their illegal orders.
Frequent transfers and postings also become a burden on the national exchequer as officers claim travelling and daily allowances from a place of transfer to the place of posting. The taxpayers also have to pay for the shifting of their luggage.
If you follow the policy it ensures tenure protection. There is no concept of giving any reason why an officer who was posted a couple of days ago against a specific post was transferred and posted against another position.
An officer who became a victim of the frequent transfers said that the honest, and upright officers have to keep their bags packed all the time. They want change in the system and often challenge the authority of political bosses and in many cases have to face transfers.
On the condition of anonymity, he said that officers themselves are also one reason for frequent transfers. Some officers run after good positions and they have to compromise and serve their political bosses. He said that unluckily, the scenario in the public sector has changed.
Governments instead of searching for honest and dutiful officers needed pawns who served them and fulfill their illegal demands. Innocent and unbending law-abiding officers have to face such problems more as compared to those who are weak and non-professional officers.
He said that the politicians usually want the officers to be their puppets and fulfil their directions without creating any hindrance. The chief minister has no powers to dismiss demote or even suspend an officer without certain reasons. The only tool he can utilize frequently is to transfer them.
The PML-N government has for the first time after coming into power transferred officers on such a large scale. Some of the officers who were just transferred and posted by it have also been shuffled without quoting any reasons.
Imran Sikandar Baloch, who was serving as secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare, was posted as secretary School Education Department a couple of days ago. He was again transferred and posted as commissioner Faisalabad. Likewise, Secretary Communication and Works Asadullah Khan was transferred and posted as secretary Agriculture Department; Secretary Planning and Development Mujahid Sherdil was posted as secretary C&W, and Special Secretary Specialized Healthcare Ajmal Bhatti was transferred and posted as secretary Energy Department.
He is also entrusted with the additional charge of the post of chief executive officer of Infrastructure Development Authority. Secretary Environment Protection Department Syed Mubashir Hussain was transferred and posted as OSD, Secretary Local Government Naeem Rauf was transferred and posted as secretary Environment, Agriculture Department Secretary Asad Rahman Gilani was transferred and posted as Secretary Local Government, Secretary Labour Dr. Sohail Shahzad was posted as OSD, Commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan Liaquat Ali Chattha was transferred and posted as secretary Labour Department, Usman Anwar awaiting posting was posted as commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan, Secretary Mines And Minerals Amer Ejaz Akbar was also posted as OSD, and Mohammed Ali Amir, Director-General Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development was transferred and posted as secretary Mines And Minerals.
Secretary Excise and Taxation Department Waqas Ali Mehmood was transferred and posted as secretary Social Welfare Department, Secretary Women Development Department Saima Saeed was transferred and posted as secretary Excise Department, Secretary Social Welfare Sumaira Samad was transferred and posted as secretary Women Development. Also, Secretary Food Department Ali Sarfaraz Hussain was transferred and posted as secretary Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department. He will also hold an additional charge of the Higher Education Department.
As the wheat procurement season is underway, usually, Food Department secretary is not transferred and is replaced by a new officer who lacks any experience of food-related issues.
Meanwhile, Secretary Transport Department Nadir Chattha was also transferred and posted as secretary Food Department, and Member Judicial One Board of Revenue Ahsan Waheed was transferred and posted as Secretary Transport Department.
