KP PMS officers launch strike against SRO

PESHAWAR: The provincial officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have locked horns with the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) by launching a strike against Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 1046 and for not getting due rights and share in provincial postings.

The officers in the Civil Secretariat and other offices across the province wore black ribbons to join a strike already launched by the Provincial Management Service (PMS) in other parts of the country. “The strike will be observed on every Tuesday and Wednesday till the demands of the PMS officers are accepted, the SRO is withdrawn and the provincial officers are given their rights as well as due share in postings,” Farhat Marwat, an activist PMS officer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), told The News. He added that the All Pakistan PMS Officers Association has launched a symbolic strike across the country against the illegal SRO 1046 notified by the federal government.

The PMS officers have been demanding immediate withdrawal of SRO 1046, making all provincial affairs exclusive to be administered by the Provincial Civil Servants and deletion of Illegal share marked for the federal officers in PMS Rules. “The SRO is an executive order issued under rules of the federal government for carrying onwards the purpose of laws and constitution. It is issued by various ministries under their respective rules.

This SRO 1046 has been issued by the Establishment Division under CSP rules (which have already been abolished) in violation of the given constitution clauses,” said Fahad Ikram Qazi, the KP coordinator for the PMS officers. He argued that the purpose is to perpetuate and give cover to illegalities and retain the monopoly of federal officers (PAS) over provincial affairs.

The PMS officers said they were expecting meaningful reforms from the incumbent government under the committee led by Dr Ishrat Hussain.

However, they added, instead of rectifying the past wrongs and complying with the Constitution of Pakistan, an attempt has been made to perpetuate the lawlessness in civil service by notifying SRO 1046 by the Establishment Division, Islamabad. The PMS officers said the civil service is regulated under article 240 and provincial civil service is the exclusive mandate of provincial assembly and cabinet under Article 141, 142 c, 240 (b) read with 241, 242 (1) (1B), 121 (b), 129, 130,137, 138 and 147 of the Constitution of Pakistan. They maintained that these articles meant that provincial affairs specified for all provinces are to be administered by the provincial government through provincial civil servants.

“There is no role of federal civil servants in running the provincial affairs in the garb of All Pakistan Service - which is restricted only to the departments under Council of Common Interest (CCI). However, the federal government has illegally grabbed the provincial positions through an illegal Apportionment formula 93 and marked all the policy making positions for federal civil servants. It has created apartheid in civil Service, resentment among the provincial civil servants and gross violations of the Constitution,” said a representative of the PMS officers.