Policy of ‘rationalisation’: Government to dissolve information directorates

Over 200 staffers to be adjusted in other departments.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has decided to abolish the Provincial Information Directorate (PID) and the Regional Information Directorates across the province.  

In this regard, the provincial establishment department will issue a notification, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, titled “Rationalisation in Information Department”.

The notification states that the government has decided to ‘rationalise’ staff of the information department and that all affected personnel would be adjusted in other departments.

It further directs that vacancies of BPS-18 and below at the K-P Civil Secretariat would be prioritised for the information department staff.

An assistant director (AD) of the information directorate told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity, that a meeting was held at an undisclosed location after the establishment wing’s notification which was attended by all directors, assistant directors and clerical staff to discuss the development.

The AD informed that services of 200 employees, along with commissioned officers, would be shifted to other government departments of the province.

“The directorates’ employees are apprehensive over the decision,” the official said, adding the employees have asked the government to give them a golden handshake rather than shifting them here and there. PID employees also threatened to take the government to court against the decision.

Another official of the directorate strongly criticised the decision of the provincial government, saying the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had failed in assuring good governance in the province. He pointed out that K-P Minister for Information Shah Farman did not visit the department even once after taking oath as the minister.

“We reject the government’s claim that the directorate shows poor performance,” the official said.

He explained that all of the directorate’s officials were competent professionals and blaming the department of poor performance was unjust.

The official argued that many competent officers would suffer due to the ‘illogical’ decision of the provincial government

Previously, employees of the directorate were unhappy over the appointment of a ‘non-professional’ as the director information. On May 2, the All Information Officers Association had demanded the K-P government to fill the post with someone from within the department.  The association had rejected the appointment of Asghar Khan who was posted from the audit department and also rejected the formation of a media cell in the information department. The media cell has been an extra burden on the department , said an official of the association.

A press release issued from the information department on May 2 had stated that staffers would protest till their demands were accepted.

Later, former information department official Imdadullah, who was on deputation in the excise department, was posted as the director information.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2014.