PM rejects promotions, but majority remain at higher post

Officers given charge of higher than actual grades, either due to shortage or proximity to top management

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has partially accepted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to reject promotion cases of three-dozen officers, as majority of these people would still serve higher than their actual basic pay scales despite rejection of their names for promotions.



Most of the people who were either promoted to grade 20 and 21 or their cases were rejected for promotions against these two grades last month were already occupying higher than actual pay-scale positions. They had been given the charges of next to their actual grades either due to shortage of officers or because of their proximity to the FBR top management.

The Centre Selection Board (CSB) had recommended the names of 84 FBR officials belonging to Inland Revenue Service (IRS) of FBR for promotion to grade 20 and 21. However, the premier rejected about three-dozen names. Except in case of six, the rest of them would not be affected by the PM’s decision, which is a mockery of the promotion and reward and punishment systems.

The premier did not accept recommendations of the CSB to promote eight officers of IRS to grade 21. The premier also rejected about two dozen cases sent to him for promotion to grade 20 from grade 19.

Interestingly, majority of these people were already serving in their next to actual pay scales. For instance, the premier approved promotions of 13 IRS officers to grade-21 but nine of them were already occupying posts meant for grade 21. Out of the remaining four, the positions of two officers were upgraded while two were brought to the FBR headquarters.

But the FBR has decided that it would not withdraw the next-grade charge from all the eight officers whose cases have been rejected for promotion to grade-21. The prime minister has returned the cases of Vishno Raja Qavi, Dr Muhammad Ali, Habibullah Khan, Mahmood Aslam, Shahzada Tahir Zaman, Syed Imran Raza Kazmi, Dr Muhammad Tariq Masood, Raza Munawar and Tanveer Malik.

Tanveer Malik is facing a case in Supreme Court of Pakistan on charges of misleading the apex court.



For promotion to grade-20, the premier rejected the cases of IRS officers; Shahid Siddique Bhatti, Aftab Mirza, Sajidullah Siddiqui, Shafqat Hussain Kehar, Muhammad Imtiaz, Aftab Imam, Shahid Iqbal Baloch, Shahid Mehmood Sheikh, Khursheed Ahmad Murwat, Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, Maqsood Jahanghir, Muhammad Farrukh Majeed, Humaira Maryum, Aamer Amin Bhatti, Muhammad Nabeel Rana and Muhammad Tariq Qureshi.

Although the Establishment Division notification does not categorise the rejected cases, the FBR has decided to divide them in two categories - the superseded ones and rejected on technical grounds.

The FBR would demote all those officers who had been superseded and were currently serving against one scale up positions, said Dr Muhammad Iqbal, the spokesman of the FBR. He said that the notification in this regard would be issued this week.

The government has superseded half a dozen grade-19 officials who were occupying grade-20 positions. Those who were in grade-19 have occupied most of five positions of Commissioner Appeals, Karachi. The Commissioner is a grade-20 position.

The prime minister returned most of these cases due to involvement of these officers in corrupt practices, said the sources. However, some of them having bad reputation were also promoted to next scales. In violation of the law, majority of the FBR officials do not file their assets declarations and escape scrutiny at the time of their promotions.

The FBR spokesman said that in those cases where promotions were not made due to “technical reasons”, the FBR would not take back the next grade charge from these officers. He said that the authorities would wait for the recommendations of the CSB in such cases. The premier referred back these cases to the CSB.



Until that time, these officers would keep serving in the higher than their actual pay scales.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2017.

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