KP planning officers oppose induction of ex-Fata employees into cadre

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision to absorb regularised employees from projects in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into the Provincial Planning Service (PPS) has prompted strong objections from officers already serving in the planning cadre.

Several PPS officers told Dawn that the former Fata project staff had first been regularised after the merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and that the government had now moved to place them in the planning cadre as well. A senior PPS official said the move would affect the promotion prospects of officers in BPS-18 and BPS-17.

The provincial cabinet approved the induction of the ex-Fata regularised project employees into the PPS cadre at its meeting on May 1.

According to official figures cited in the report, the proposed merger into the PPS includes three officers in BPS-19, 21 in BPS-18, 39 in BPS-17, and 182 employees in grades below BPS-17.

Concerns over rules, seniority and promotions

One official said the existing rules and law do not provide for lateral entry into the service. He warned that bringing the ex-Fata regularised employees into the PPS could create administrative and legal complications.

Questions of seniority are expected to arise not only among the Fata employees themselves, but also between them and officers recruited through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission (KPPSC). The official said officers from KPPSC-recommended batches, including Batch-I, II and III, were likely to contest the move, particularly if they viewed placements or tenure decisions as unfair.

He said such overlapping claims could lead to prolonged litigation, keeping the seniority structure under judicial consideration for a long period. That, in turn, could delay final seniority lists, obstruct Promotion Selection Boards, and stall promotions across the cadre.

Questions over process

Under the Regularisation of Employees of Erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas Act, 2021, a total of 15 projects were regularised in 2021. Later, on the request of regularised Fata project employees, the additional chief secretary for Planning and Development initiated a summary seeking the encadrement of 44 officers and 182 officials from those projects into the PPS.

A committee headed by the special secretary of the Planning and Development Department was formed to review the matter. However, concerns were later raised about the transparency and neutrality of the process.

In 2024, the secretary of the Establishment Department formally noted that two members of the committee were direct beneficiaries of the proposed encadrement, while another member had a close relative among the beneficiaries, creating a clear conflict of interest.

The Establishment Department also pointed to what it called a major gap in the record, saying there was no verifiable data on the total number of employees regularised across the 15 projects. Despite that, the committee recommended the inclusion of 44 officers and 182 support staff in the PPS without what the department said was a transparent or verifiable basis.

In response to those concerns, the establishment secretary proposed the formation of a new and impartial committee with representation from the establishment, finance and law departments. Although such a committee was notified, it did not hold any meeting.

Association threatens legal challenge

An official questioned why the PPS had been selectively opened for encadrement when other closed and competitive services, such as CSS and PMS, do not allow such inductions. He also asked why a merit-based system, in which recruitment is carried out strictly through the Public Service Commission, was being compromised.

What precedent does this set for the thousands of ongoing and future projects across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Will all such project employees now claim encadrement?

An office-bearer of the Provincial Planning Service Association said the proposed induction of ex-Fata employees into the PPS was unjust to the cadre.

The authorities at the helm of affairs first recruit their near and dear in the projects and then regularise them on different pretext

He said the association had also written to PTI founder Imran Khan, asking him to take notice of the matter. He added that former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur had rejected the induction of these officers into the PPS and had directed that a committee be formed to hear all stakeholders on the issue.

He said the association would challenge the move in court once the government formally announced the induction.

When contacted, a senior official of the Planning and Development Department said the government was inducting the ex-Fata employees in light of directives issued by the Supreme Court and the decision of the provincial cabinet.