ISLAMABAD – Despite Supreme Court orders barring contractual employment of retired officers in government departments, 10 officials who were appointed on a contractual basis after retirement in the Planning Commission of Pakistan (PCP) under the government of former president Pervez Musharraf are still employed, some at senior positions.
A senior official said on condition of anonymity that six of the officers in question were working at senior positions as advisers and specialists after they retired and were reappointed on a contractual basis on senior positions during Musharraf’s regime. Three of the retired officials were adjusted as advisers on contracts, namely Economic Planning Adviser Dr SM Younas Jafari, Development Budget Adviser Muhammad Asif Sheikh and Agriculture Planning Adviser Dr Muhammad Jameel Khan.
Three of the retired officials who were adjusted as specialists were PIA Specialist Shahnawaz Hussain, Educational Planning Specialist Ali Arif Naqvi and Policy Specialist Dr Asif Qayyum Qureshi. The official said that the appointments were illegal in view of the apex court’s decision. Another official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said that the re-appointments impeded the periodic endorsement of several officials waiting for their promotion to senior positions and also discouraged young talent.
