Lahore   -  The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has requested the Punjab Chief Secretary not to post Punjab Secretariat Service (PSS) officers in the establishment.

A letter from the ACE DG to the Secretary Services S&GAD conveyed that all the posts of directors region, deputy directors investigation and assistant directors (investigation) are required to be filled in the ACE by the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), Police Service and Provincial Management Services (PMS).

PSS do not have adequate knowledge and relevant experience of investigation and do not fulfill the conditions of ACE Service Rules 2007, the letter said. A PSS officer Afzal Nasir Khan was posted as ACE Multan Region, who do not have adequate knowledge and relevant experience of investigation and do not fulfill the condition of the ACE Service Rules, it adds.

The ACE also requested to withdraw notification of posting of Afzal Nasir as Regional Director Multan. 

Earlier, Afzal Nasir served as Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue (ADCR) Rajanpur.

The S&GAD withdrew its former notification posting Nasir as ACE director but didn’t quote any reason. The PSS officers have expressed serious concerns on the ACE letter, saying that the ACE administration has chosen inappropriate way on the matter. They said that perhaps the DG Hussain Asghar was misreported on the ACE Rules 2007. The ACE should know that after PMS Rules 2004 were approved there was no PCS or PSS service.

Both PSS officers Dr Saleh Tahir (Secretary Regulation) and Mirza Naseer Inayat (PPSC Secretary) had served as ACE Addl DGs while a number of officers as Regional Directors, while so many as Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors.

They said a number of PSS officers worked in ACE in the past efficiently. Iqbal Alitta worked as AD investigation in ACE for about 5 years including 2.5 years in NAB, from 1999 to 2003, along with other PSS officers Shahid Nasar Raja, Siddiq Minhas, Ch Ijaz, Saleh Tahir, Maalik Bhullah, Raja Jahangir, Mian Abrar, Hafiz Anees, Afzal Nasir, and others, when there was no PMS.

Moreover, Asad Naeem and Amir Khattak remained Rawalpindi directors, Dr Sohail Anwer Ch as Gujranwala region.

A senior PSS officer said on anonymity that the PSS officers are PMS Officers for all intents and purposes. S&GAD has endorsed it against the rules by withdrawing the posting order of an ex-PSS officer as ACE Multan director.

Now after the introduction of PMS in 2004, when PCS and PSS no more exist and have become dying cadres, it is ridiculous to write such letter and instead of rebutting it, S&GAD has straight away withdrawn the order of Afzal Nasir, the offider lamented. They have also said they would agitate in S&GAD through PMS Association. Majority of the incumbent regional directors had no experience of investigation why they were posted while Nasir had anti-corruption experience, he questioned.

They said that the ACE administration should be aware of the fact that all the training for PCS and PSS were same after PMS was formed.

The ACE DG Addl IGP Hussain Asghar was not available to comment on the situation.