Committee to decide fate of govt officers

Islamabad : The Cabinet Division has constituted the directory retirement committee (DRC) to decide the fate of its officers and its attached departments i.e. Department of Communications Security and National Archives of Pakistan.

The DRC will meet today (Monday) for the forced retirement of BPS 17-19 officers, sources told 'The News'.

According to the Directory Retirement Rules, 2020, the officers will be sent on forced retirement, whose at least three performance evaluation reports (PERs) are ‘average’ during the entire service. The sources said the officers of those departments had already been given show-cause notices over average PERs but surprisingly, they were unaware of those reports, which, under the rules, were not shared with them.

An officer said on condition of anonymity, “It seems ridiculous and illogical that a grade 19 officer is sent on forced retirement on the basis of his/her average PERs which he/she has earned in the initial stage of his/her career. It will not be a fair play that the officers are pushed into early retirement due to poor performance of three years during the 1990s or 2000s. Many officers have moved up three steps on their promotion ladder since their induction in the government service on the basis of their performance."

He wondered if performance was not satisfactory in the past, why those officers were promoted on the basis of performance evaluation reports.

A BPS-19 officer, whose name is in the list of directory retirement, said his average PER of grade 17 was never communicated to him.

"Recently I have been informed abruptly that my three years PERs of 10 years back were ‘Average.’ My performance remained good during my entire service because my senior officers did not communicate any adverse or advisory remarks to me,” he said.

An officer of the Cabinet Division told 'The News' that there were some loopholes in the DRR 2020, which may open 'Pandora's box of litigation'.

"I personally know some officers whose names are included in the list of directory retirement. The conduct and behaviour of these officers with their bosses remained satisfactory and they have never been punished or panelised due to financial corruption or on the basis of professional inefficiency," he said.

Professor Javaid Iqbal Gondal of the Federal Government College Teachers Association suggested that the Directory Retirement Rules 2020 be implemented with effect from the date of their issuance instead of being implemented since the induction of officers in government service.

He said the ministries, divisions and departments should ensure that all officers and officials are being updated about their average PERs to be careful about their performance in future.