PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE: Early in his term, Prime Minister Imran Khan had claimed that bureaucracy is the biggest hurdle in creating his “Naya Pakistan”. The statement appears to hold some weight in the eyes of his party cohorts as well.
The rift between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the civil bureaucracy keeps widening. PTI parliamentarians and office bearers have complained that government officers, especially officials in direct public service departments, do not even try to solve the public’s problems and use delay tactics, while in other departments, PTI’s own appointed chairmen and vice-chairmen are also not cooperating with their party comrades.
PTI members are claiming that this is causing them to face severe criticism from their respective constituents and forcing them to avoid public interaction.
They have been urging Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Prime Minister Imran Khan to take steps to resolve these issues as soon as possible.
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Sources said that a few days back, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, before a meeting with PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry, conveyed to the media his strong reservations over the bureaucracy’s failure to listen to PTI’s parliamentarians and organisational office-bearers. He had also claimed that PTI leaders only go to government officers with “just” requests and demands.
PTI leaders have also complained that despite having been in power for 11 months, PML-N appointees are still holding several important seats.
The departments complained about most include education, health, WASA, and Solid Waste Management at the provincial level, while gas and power officials received the most complaints at the federal level. These departments are directly related to the public and common citizens often approach their MPAs, MNAs, and other ruling party leaders to get work done. During the PML-N’s tenure, these departments gave full protocol to parliamentarians, sources claimed, adding that PTI’s ticket holders have not seen the same welcoming attitude.
The government has made a few political appointments at chairman and vice-chairman level in various organisations, but the PTI parliamentarians have told party leaders that these people are also becoming controversial and that instead of creating a meritocracy, cliques within the party have been working in self-interest.
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PTI South Punjab President Noor Bhabha confirmed to The Express Tribune that there was indeed a rift and said that parliamentarians and party leaders only approach government officers with legitimate public issues, so bureaucrats should cooperate more.
PTI Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry said he would not refute the statement from Governor Sarwar as he has been the part of government system for a year and has a deep understanding of the issues facing the province.
PTI Chief Organiser Saifullah Khan Nyazee said that the federal bureaucracy is coordinating with PTI leaders and parliamentarians, but there have been hiccups in some places. We are working to resolve them as PTI’s objective is to work for the welfare of the people, and the duty of the bureaucracy is also to look after the interests of the people, so PTI and the bureaucracy can move forward with joint cooperation.
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