PCS police officers struggling to get due seniority

PESHAWAR: An officer recruited directly as deputy superintendent of police (DSP) through the province Public Service Commission is yet to be encadred in the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) even 12 years after his promotion as superintendent of police (SP) in grade-18.

An official said that the Central Police Office has sent a list of 15 SPs to their unit heads on September 15, saying their names are being considered for encadrement into PSP against the 40 per cent quota reserved for provincial officers. The CPO also sought their willingness before sending their names to the federal government authorities, the official added. The list includes the names of district police officer (DPO) Hangu Shahid Ahmad, DPO Bajaur Kokab Farooq, DPO Battagram Tariq Sohail, SSP Traffic Waseem Khalil, two assistant inspector generals Javed Ahmad and Mohammad Ashfaq, SSP Investigation Peshawar Nausher Khan and SPs Iftikhar Ali, Rahim Shah, Jahanzeb Barki, Khan Akbar, Shah Jahan Durrani and Saleem Riaz.

Except one or two, the rest were recruited as assistant sub-inspector (ASIs) in 1990s and were promoted to grade-18 a year or two ago. However, one officer in the list was promoted to grade-18 against a scheduled post in March 2008. According to a source, Rabnawaz Khan was promoted to grade-18 12 years back when he was posted SP City in Peshawar. He has served as DPO in Nowshera, Dera Ismail Khan, Mansehra and served against other key positions during the last twelve years. “His name is now sent for encadrement with officers who have served as station house officers (SHOs) with Rabnawaz when he was already SP. Some of his batchmates have been promoted to grade-19 a year back after they were encadered in PSP. All of them, however, are serving in relatively smaller districts/positions compared to the PSPs despite being in grade-19,” the source said. The source added that Rabnawaz Khan was first considered for encadrement into PSP in 2012.

“In a presentation to the Secretary Establishment in Islamabad last year, the officer stated he was serving Community Welfare Attaché in the Pakistan Embassy in Kuwait by that time and was maliciously kept ignorant by his department (KP Police) of the Central Selection Board meeting. He also stated in his presentation that he should be appointed in the PSP from the date of his regular promotion in grade-18 so he would not lose his due seniority and would not be placed junior to those who have served under his command,” the source said. Rabnawaz, currently serving with the United Nations in Italy as Advisor on Transitional Crime, was among the last batch of officers who were recruited directly as DSPs in grade-17. All the batches of the PCS officers recruited as DSPs had to fight for years to get due seniority. Still, some of them are struggling for their rights while a few have retired with only getting one grade promotion in their entire career.

A senior PCS officer Sajid Khan Mohmand was recruited as DSP in grade-17 in 1988 but he could get only one promotion to grade-18 in almost 29 years of service before he was martyred in a suicide attack in Chaman, Balochistan. Gul Afzal Afridi was another police officer who performed extraordinarily wherever he was posted in almost three decades of service and retired in grade-18 for not having proper service structure. Gul Afzal was recruited as DSP in grade-17 in 1988 and retired in grade-18 after three decades of service.

The official added that this was because of the policies of the government that some officers who were respected for being honest and brave could not get the due promotion. Many of those recruited as constables have reached the rank of SP in 30 years of service with getting several step promotion. Some of the PCS cops are still fighting a legal battle to get their right of promotion, at least on a par with the officers of the Provincial Management Service. They had also demanded provincial quota for the PCS police officers in senior grades. However, the lack of proper service structure and strong opposition by the officers of the Police Service of Pakistan deprived them of all that they demanded for years.