What started off as a mudslinging contest between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) over the shuffling of the bureaucracy has now come full circle with a new Chief Minister (CM) in office.
The PTI backed CM candidate Chaudhary Pervez Elahi, is now expected to make major upheavals in the bureaucratic machinery of the country’s most populous province and the political point scoring on transfers aside, former officers believe that the exercise is detrimental to Punjab’s progress.
Ahmad Naseem, former inspector general (IG) Punjab Police, whilst acknowledging that postings were a part of the civil service, said that abrupt transfers upend the entire system.
Naseem, talking about why upheavals were problematic, stated: “Police rules require that you familiarise yourself with the conditions of the place where you are posted. Cases of theft and robbery are to be pursued in detail which is only possible if top officers are given adequate time to follow up. However, all these responsibilities cannot be performed with justice if officers, regardless of rank, are transferred every few months.”
Punjab has struggled to retain a long term IG appointment, with the recent office holder Rao Sardar Ali Khan transferred as well during the last few days of former CM Hamza Shahbaz’s time.
However, it is not just the police, former chief secretary Punjab, Imtiaz Masroor, is of the view that frequent postings are an Achilles’ heel for every department’s functionality.
“Every government brings an army of officers of their choice, citing comfortability as a reason. They forget the impact that has on the morale of officers.”
Masroor, when asked if he saw an end to the practice in the near future, said that it seemed impossible. “Tenure policy of officers was followed in yesteryears, now it is just who is affiliated with our political party.”
Mental health toll In the PML-N’s short stint, Uzma Bukhari, the party’s information secretary and a Member Provincial Assembly (MPA), had gone to great lengths to reassure the province that tenure policy would be followed.
“We will not exploit the bureaucracy but rather implement the three year tenure policy we had before. This will ensure bureaucracy’s performance is not affected,” Bukhari had said.
Similarly, PTI spokesperson in Punjab, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chauhan, had also said that his party was the only one capable of following the tenure policy. But Naseem thinks that every party treats the bureaucracy as a chessboard and not as a system of humans capable of having feelings.
“Due to the uncertainty and politicisation of the civil service, officers are forced to move their families as well the moment they get transferred. Politicians only see the service aspect, not the consequences such as children being moved from school to school forced to make new friends every few months.”
Psychologist and Professor Dr Rizwan Aziz, when asked about the effect of frequent moves on the mind and officer’s morale, said that it was a recipe for disaster.
“Mentally, civil servants need time to adjust to a new environment, but when they are sent to another place before that time, their mind is overwhelmed with pressure. Resultantly, they start to present signs of irritability and build a fiery temper.”
Masroor, concurring with the psychologist’s assessment, implored that there was desperate need for reforms.
“Hopefully, some government will take a stand on the tenure policy so that officers will focus on working rather than building political affiliations to remain in Punjab. The bureaucracy’s treatment as shuttlecock has to stop some day,” the former chief secretary told The Express Tribune.
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