Bureaucrat likely to be appointed CEC

LAHORE: PTI, the ruling party which has been criticising the bureaucracy of the country for several years, finally acknowledged the credentials of those government officials who had proved their mettle during the PPP and PML-N tenures.

The ruling party seems to be interested in seeing a bureaucrat appointed as the chief election commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan.

For the first time, the government and the opposition have named one serving and one retired brother, as well as a former CJP, for the CEC post. As a result, for the first time in the history of the country, chances are high that a retired bureaucrat will be appointed as the CEC.

The names of the officers, who have been the favourites of the PML-N and PPP for the past 12 years, have been proposed by the government. All the three proposed names from Punjab hold vast experience in controlling political and administrative affairs of the province.

Both the government and the opposition have expressed full confidence in the civil bureaucracy. The names proposed by the government and the opposition for the post are those of renowned retired bureaucrats.

This time, none of the sides has proposed the name of any retired judge or technocrat. Earlier, only judges were appointed for the post. However, after some time, it was amended with a consensus and decided that a retired civil servant, or a technocrat of same level of a federal secretary, could be deputed for the post. The three names proposed by the government on Thursday included the present Secretary of Election Commission Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad and two former federal secretaries Arif Khan and Fazal Abbas Mekan. On the other hand, three names of former bureaucrats  included former federal secretaries Nasir Mehmood Khosa, Jalil Abbas Jillani and Akhlaq Ahmed Tarar. Both the government and the opposition have proposed the names of those who hail from Punjab and no other province. The six civil servants, sent greetings to each other and it is widely believed that they are on good terms.

Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad and Nasir Mehmood Khosa, the names proposed by government and oppositionm respectively, have served as chief secretaries of two provinces. Nasir Khosa served as chief secretary of Punjab and Balochistan. Apart from serving as a principal secretary to the PM, he also represented Pakistan at the World Bank. He is also the brother of CJP Asif Saeed Khosa and former DG FIA Tariq Khosa. PTI had proposed his name as an interim CM in the 2018 election, which was accepted by PML-N. PTI, however, later took the U-turn.

Nasir Khosa has served on key posts in Balochistan as well. He opposed CM Shehbaz Sharif on several matters during his tenure as chief secretary in Punjab. Meanwhile, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, who hails from Gujranwala, has served as Chief Secretary in Balochistan and G-B. Observers call him an honest officer who is known for his bold work. Technically, he enjoys an edge for serving as a secretary in ECP for several years and, hence, he is fully aware of matters and proceedings of the electoral body. Jalil Abbas Jillani, on the other hand, belongs to the foreign service and is a brother of former Chief Justice of Pakistan (retd) Tasadduq Hussain Jillani. He hails from Multan. His brother, Zahid Hussain Jillani, has served as an MD of the Cholistan Development Authority (CDA), Bahawalpur and Director Anti-Corruption Bahawalpur. Presently, he is retired. He has also served in the provincial service of Punjab.

Akhlaq Ahmed Tarar has also served on key posts in the federation and Punjab. He hails from Hafizabad. Fazal Abbas Mekan, meanwhile, has served on various posts in Punjab and Secretary cabinet in the federal government. He hails from Sargodha. His son-in-law, Mubashir Mekan, is a police officer and was appointed with CM Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar.

Fazal Abbas Mekan, in addition to Punjab, has served as Secretary of important departments in K-P. Arif Khan hails from Sheikhupura, but began his service from Sindh and served at key posts in the province. Later, he also served as federal interior and finance secretary. Nasir Khosa and Jalil Abbas Jillani belong to sixth common of federal service while Akhlaq Tarar belongs to the seventh common. Arif Khan is from the eleventh and Fazal Abbas Mekan, who belongs to the 12th common, is an officer of the district management and Pakistan administrative service.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2019.