Created three weeks ago, the new ministries of National Harmony, Human Resource Development and Professional and Technical Training have become the victims of the Cabinet and Establishment Divisions’ negligence and are yet to become fully functional.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani constituted these ministries on July 29 under Rule 3(2) of the Rules of Business 1973 with immediate effect for which notification was issued by the Cabinet Division.
A source in the Ministry of Professional and Technical Training told Pakistan Today that despite the passage of more than three weeks and repeated requests by the federal minister, the Establishment Division had not provided the minister with staff members and he was being assisted by a secretary and few staffers only.
After the removal of Sohail Ahmed from his position of establishment secretary, principal secretary to the prime minister, Khushnood Lashari has been working on the additional charge of establishment secretary. “Due to hectic engagements of Lashari with the premier, the affairs of the Establishment Division are not being run properly therefore the division has failed to fulfill its responsibility of posting required human resource in the newly created ministries,” said an official of the Ministry of Professional and Technical Training.
He said the Cabinet Division had also failed to resolve legal and technical issues attached with the placement of National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) under the Ministry of Professional and Technical Training. Federal Minister for Professional and Technical Training Riaz Hussain Pirzada said currently he had not been provided with complete staff which was needed to run the ministry smoothly.
“I and the secretary are trying to run the affairs of the ministry with limited human resource,” Pirzada said. The situation in the Ministry of National Harmony is not different from the other two newly formed ministries as it has also not provided full staff by the Establishment Division as well as the Finance Division has yet not allocated budget for the ministry.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Minister of State for National Harmony Akram Masih Gill said that he was hopeful that the ministry would become fully functional before Eid. The sources said the issues of the ministries would be raised in the cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday (today).
