FPSC chairman’s post vacant for a year

ISLAMABAD: The important post of Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) chairman has been vacant for a year due to which the promotion of federal bureaucracy has been delayed.

The post was vacated by former FPSC chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar in August 2023 but no one has been appointed to this important post yet. Tarar resigned from the post before taking oath as a minister in the last caretaker cabinet.

The chairman is also the ex-officio chairman of Central Selection Board (CSB) under the Federal Public Service Rules and presides over the board meeting. The CSB meeting has been delayed due to the absence of FPSC chairman.

The CSB approves promotion from Grade 19 to 20, and Grade 20 to 21. Under the Promotion Policy, the CSB meeting is convened twice in a year, and around 350 officers are recommended to be promoted in a meeting.

The Establishment Division sources said that currently 700 cases of promotion of Grades 19 and 20 are pending. The last CSB meeting was held in August 2023.

Due to the absence of the board meeting, there is anxiety and frustration among hundreds of officers waiting for promotion. They have appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appoint the FPSC chairman without any delay. Government sources said President Asif Ali Zardari did not agree with the name sent by the Prime Minister’s Office for the appointment of FPSC chairman. The matter will remain in abeyance until both consult and agree.