Foreign missions: Political appointees in a tight spot

Appointments made in previous govt’s tenure are being questioned

ISLAMABAD: Politically connected officials, also known as non-career diplomats, posted in various foreign missions, are finding themselves in a blind alley as finance departments of the embassies concerned are terming all such postings illegal.

Some of them have made up their mind to go into litigation because finance and account departments of these Pakistani embassies refused to release their pay and allowances, The Express Tribune has learnt.

More than 57 officers from ministries of information, national heritage and commerce, were appointed on a political basis on some 20 missions abroad by the previous government of Pakistan Peoples Party, revealed a senior official dealing with the matter, adding that some of them are not even civil servants

In the latest case, the finance and account department of the Pakistan Embassy in Washington informed the Ministry of Finance Islamabad that the posting of the deputy press attaché was illegal. On the request of the then ambassador Sherry Rehman and with the approval of prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, a temporary post of assistant press attaché BPS-17 was created for the year 2012-13. It was subsequently upgraded again with the approval of the prime minister for Muhammad Faisal Ilyas, stated the letter written by the Finance Division Islamabad to the Ministry of Information and National Heritage on this issue.

In its official response to The Express Tribune, Pakistan Embassy spokesman in Washington said, “it is for the ministry to take a decision on the issue.”

The previous government posted 15 officers from the ministry of information and 20 from the commerce ministry without deliberating on whether these posts were available or not at these missions, revealed officials of ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance.

These officials, however, claimed that the latest order also applies on two dozen community welfare attachés whose appointments were made by the previous government in an apparent violation of rules. The finance and accounts departments of the missions abroad had already pointed out postings of Sardar Balakh Sher Khosa, son of former governor Punjab Latif Khosa, who was appointed as a counselor on April 4, 2012 in London on a private quota, without observing the rules, they told The Express Tribune.

They further revealed that Syed Akbar Adil Shah, brother-in-law of the leader of opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah, was appointed as a counsellor in Sydney on January 1, 2009.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2014.