Govt to revoke ‘Civil Servants Rules’ amid bureaucratic pressure

KARACHI: The federal government is considering scaling back the ‘Civil Servants Service Rules, 2020’ after immense pressure from vested interests within the bureaucracy.

In order to improve efficiency and performance of civil service, the prime minister had approved the ‘Civil Servants (Directory retirement from Service) Rules 2020’ in April. The rules allow for mandatory evaluation of every officer/official of Grade 1-22 upon completion of 20 years of service for retirement.

The assessment was to be carried out by retirement boards formed under these rules to allow objective scrutiny of the performance of officers. The board for scrutiny of officers from Grade 20-22 is headed by Chairman Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) while Secretary Establishment, Secretary Cabinet, Secretary Finance and Secretary Law are permanent members.

The criteria for retirement include adverse remarks for those guilty of corruption or have entered into a plea bargain or voluntary return with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB ). However, several quarters and unscrupulous elements within the bureaucracy have opposed the legislation and have adopted a ‘go-slow’ strategy to force the government to rescind the order.

Senior officials within the Establishment Division and Finance Division have also expedited efforts to save members of the bureaucracy. The federal bureaucracy has held a silent protest for the past two months creating a heavy backlog and have conducted several meetings to make the reform policy fail.

In this regard, a retired bureaucrat said a section of the bureaucracy has gained affluence and operates like a mafia. During the PML-N era, Principal Secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad held sway, while now the Prime Minister’s Secretary Suleiman Daud has gained prominence, he said, adding that the same officers are still presented and competent bureaucrats have been sidelined.

He said that similar vested groups have prominence in the provincial bureaucracy and is full of those who held positions as deputy commissioners and DPOs in previous tenures. He said the prime minister should implement the civil service rules and not succumb to any pressure from the bureaucracy. He confided that he has received credible information that the prime minister and the federal cabinet are mulling to withdraw the Civil Services Rules.