- Shuffling of officers mere eyewash as PML-N’s blue-eyed boys stay in important positions
ISLAMABAD: The recent shuffling in the federal and provincial bureaucracy is merely eyewash as several Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) sympathisers within the bureaucracy remain well-placed on important slots, Pakistan Today has observed.
Official sources told Pakistan Today that the outgoing government has managed to appoint its blue-eyed officers on important slots, hoping to maintain its grip on the administration in the run up to the general elections.
The federal government on June 13 replaced chief secretaries and police chiefs of the four provinces.
Kaleem Imam, Amjad Saleemi, Mohammad Tahir and Mohsin Butt had been appointed as the new inspectors general of police (IGPs) in Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan, respectively.
Moreover, Akhtar Nazir Warraich was appointed as Balochistan chief secretary, Naveed Kamran Baloch was appointed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief secretary, Azam Salman was appointed as Sindh chief secretary and Akbar Durrani was appointed as Punjab chief secretary.
Naveed Kamran Baloch spent most of his career in Sindh and sources claim that he might give benefit to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in KP.
Sindh Chief Secretary Azam Salman remained close to the PML-N in Punjab as the former government had upgraded a special seat for him when he was promoted to Basic Pay Scale (BPS) Grade-22.
Furthermore, Akbar Durrani managed to get the seat of Punjab chief secretary in connivance with high ups in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In addition, provincial governments with the approval of the ECP on June 20 and 22 reshuffled provincial secretaries, additional secretaries, commissioners and deputy commissioners(DCs).
Sources also revealed that if an officer of the Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS) wanted to serve in Punjab, he or she had to give an interview to PML-N’s senior leadership.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government chose to appoint most of the commissioners and DCs from the PAS rather than the Provincial Management Service (PMS).
It is a common assertion that officers of the PAS are the PML-N’s bureaucratic wing because the party has always given important seats to officers of this group not only in the federal government but also at the provincial level.
The selection of Khurram Agha as secretary to Punjab CM is another impediment in conducting free and fair elections in Punjab, sources further claimed.
At the federal level, a number of federal secretaries were reshuffled on June 27.
Competent officers such as Mian Asad Hayauddin were directed to report to the Establishment Division (ED) while powerful officers who were serving in Punjab were given lucrative slots at the federal level.
Muhammad Jehanzab Khan was appointed Board of Investment secretary, Captain (r) Zahid Saeed was appointed as National Health Services (NHS) secretary and Rizwan Memon was posted as Power Division secretary. It is also worth mentioning here that the caretaker government appointed Hamza Shafqaat, a BPS Grade-18 officer, as Islamabad’s DC despite public knowledge of his close affiliation with the former ruling party.
Senior officers of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have not been transferred so far. Moreover, the federal ombudsmen and auditor general of Pakistan (AGP) continue to serve in their posts.
Pakistan Today made several attempts to contact Information Minister Ali Zafar and ECP spokesperson but it was of no avail.
Additional reporting by Shahzad Paracha
