Khoso takes care of his own

Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Monday continued to create controversy with ill-timed decisions.

The incoming Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government is scheduled to take charge on Wednesday evening. However, Justice (r) Khoso on Monday approved deputation of 100 officers from Balochistan, his home province, to various ministries, divisions and departments of the federal government in grades 17 and above.

According to the media wing of the prime minister’s secretariat, the process of selecting officers for deputation was initiated on April 23 and on its completion, with the due involvement of the establishment division, Prime Minister Khoso signed the decision.

“This decision has been taken by the prime minister in order to meet the shortfall in representation of the province in federal services and to promote national harmony,” an official statement said.

Talking to media, an aide to the prime minister said the transfer of the officers was part of the Aghaz-i-Haqooq Balochistan package launched by the PPP-led government.

Justified or not, it is learnt that the PML-N government may object to the induction of such a large number of officers without its consent.

When asked, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Shafqat Jalil said selection of the officers for deputation had been made after scrutiny by the establishment division, but “the next government by all means will be independent to accept or reject the decision”.

However, a federal secretary said the issue was not whether the caretaker prime minister could depute a civil servant but of prudence of the decision at this time when the caretakers were on their way out.

“After the 18th amendment to the constitution, the centre is left with fewer departments than it used to govern prior to the legislation. Therefore, the accommodating such a large number of people in the officer cadre will surely be taken with a pinch of salt by the incoming PML-N ministers, if at all the new cabinet doesn’t reverse the decision,” he said.

Secondly, the coming set-up in Balochistan which is already short of civil servants may also find it difficult to fill the gap created by the large-scale transfers. “Ideally speaking, the caretaker prime minister should have left the decision to the new provincial and federal governments,” the secretary said.

POLIO CELL

In a belated attempt to make up for his last week’s decision of dissolving the polio monitoring cell at the prime minister’s secretariat, Khoso appointed on Monday Dr Saadia Sarwar as focal person in charge of the cell. Dr Sarwar was already working at the secretariat.

The prime minister issued directives that the cell should start functioning forthwith and expressed the hope that honest and dedicated persons would be co-opted to achieve the goal of eradication of polio from the country, an official statement said. The decision of appointing the focal person was in continuation of the prime minister’s order to restore the cell, it added.

About the decision to wind up the cell, an official said PM Khoso had been misled by the bureaucracy.

He said the bureaucrats wanted to keep the anti-polio programme with them, whereas the bosses of the newly created ministry of health services, regulation and coordination were eyeing transfer of the cash-rich subject to their control.