Latest news with #EstablishmentDivision
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Rs146m allocated for Balochistan officers
Amid ongoing law and order situation in Balochistan, the government has expedited the work on implementing "incentive package and policy" for the officers posted in the province and devised a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the allocation of funds. In a recent meeting, the Finance Division briefed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that the prime minister had approved the revised Incentive Package for PAS and PSP officers posted under the Government of Balochistan (GoB) on January 9, last year. Accordingly, the Establishment Division on January 29, 2024 notified the package, which aimed at motivating the PAS and PSP officers from outside Balochistan to be posted in Balochistan by addressing concerns like high cost of living, lack of facilities, support and social isolation. An SOP had been devised in consultation with the Establishment Division to allocate funds for the under the package, the ECC was informed. As per the SOP the Establishment Division would coordinate with the Balochistan government on a bi-annual basis. The SOP stipulated that funds would be surrendered to the consolidated account of the Balochistan government in favour of the Finance Division. The Finance Division would release the funds after obtaining the Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) from the ECC. Accordingly, the Finance Division surrendered Rs146,413,696 for onward transfer to the Balochistan government in order to meet the demand under the Finance Division's allocation for FY 2024-25. The ECC's approval for the TSG was obtained under Grants, Subsidies & Miscellaneous Expenditures head.
Express Tribune
17-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Govt to dissolve Imran's flagship project
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to dissolve the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA), a flagship project of former prime minister Imran Khan's government. Reliable sources confirmed that PM Sharif has decided to wind up the authority, a national construction organization responsible for the planning, development, construction and management of real estate projects across the country. In this regard, the contract of Major General (retd) Amir Aslam Khan, the current NAPHDA chairman, has not been renewed. Meanwhile, Captain (retd) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal has been appointed as the acting chairman of the authority. His appointment will be for a period of three months, according to a notification issued by the Establishment Division. According to the notification, Captain (retd) Iqbal will hold additional charge as acting chairman either for three months or until a permanent appointment is made. Iqbal is a BS-20 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, and is currently serving as the director general of the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority. The authority had an annual budget of Rs400 million, and over the past five years, its total budget reached Rs2 billion yet its output remained zero, sources added. The NAPHDA was established on January 15, 2020. The Senate of Pakistan passed the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority Bill in 2019.
Business Recorder
03-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Panel concerned over meagre FPSDP allocation for women
ISLAMABAD: The Special Committee on Gender Mainstreaming has unanimously expressed its grave concern on the alarming 1.3 percentage of financial allocation under Federal Public Sector Development Programme relating to women during 2020-25. The committee stressed for enhancement of the allocation which was crucial for gender mainstreaming. It also underlined the need for ensuring that 10 percent of the quota reserved for women is met. The committee met under the chairpersonship of Dr Nafeesa Shah, MNA in the Parliament House to discuss the issues underlining the women participation in national development apart from financial inclusion, access to justice, health and education. It was apprised by the Planning and Development Ministry that out of PSDP amount of Rs3.6 trillion, only Rs48 billion were allocated for gender based projects across 2020-25. The Chief Gender Unit of the ministry further informed that the key findings of the gender analysis of yesteryears transpired that annual gender based allocations were constant between 1.3 to 1.5 percent peaking at 2.5 percent in 2023-24 and dropping to 0.7 percent in 2024-25. She said that the ministry had made strides in promoting gender equality and mainstreaming gender consideration across its operations and development initiatives; however, more needed to be done. She informed that a comprehensive Gender Action Plan had been developed in collaboration with UN Women, Gender Checklist had been developed for PSDP projects besides conducting a Gender review of the PSDP 2020-2025. She assured that a comprehensive report on Gender review would be shared with the Committee. The committee directed Planning Ministry to present a way forward to close the gender gap. The committee also expressed its concern on the inadequate budget for primary education and healthcare. The committee also expressed its concern on the failure to address gender violence. The committee strongly urged that projects focused on women empowerment may be included for women financial inclusion, women health and legal empowerment. While taking up the agenda regarding effective implementation of the women's employment quota in federal government, the chair opined that the number of women in federal jobs was not encouraging. She said that the present female representation in federal jobs was 5.26 percent of the total workforce which was a significant gap which needed to be looked into seriously. The Members of the Committee also expressed their reservation on special initiatives taken by the Establishment Division for women and termed them a special dispensation for all. They called for giving special preference to women to meet the meet the shortfall. The special secretary Establishment Division apprised that there was a significant gap due to underlined issues; however, there was an upward trajectory when compared with previous years. He said that special initiatives had been taken up for instance conducting special CSS exams for filling in vacant seats reserved for women, minorities and underserved areas, giving the 4th chance, age exemption for up to 35 years. He further apprised that province had been asked to prioritise the issue and share their strategy to ensure meeting of 10 percent quota reserved for women. The committee after briefing by SMEDA was of the view that for making financial inclusion of women meaningful, SMEDA should adopt a whole of Pakistan approach instead of piecemeal or selective interventions. It also stressed for a more coordinated approach between State Bank of Pakistan, SMEDA, Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the aspiring women entrepreneurs for ensuring access to financial empowerment. The committee also directed for sharing national draft of the Women Entrepreneurship Policy with the committee for its input. The committee, appreciating the initiatives by Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) for financial inclusion of women, decided to have a follow-up meeting on the same issue. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Riffat Mukhtar appointed as DG FIA, Waqar Syed to lead new cybercrime agency
The federal government has appointed senior police officer Riffat Mukhtar Raja as the new director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), according to an official notification issued by the Establishment Division. Riffat, a Grade-21 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), previously served as inspector general of the National Highway & Motorway Police (NH&MP) and also held the post of Sindh police chief in the past. He brings extensive law enforcement experience to the FIA, taking charge of the country's premier investigative body at a critical time. In a separate move, Waqar-ud-Din Syed has been named the first director general of the newly-established National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which operates under the Interior Division. Waqar, a Grade-20 PSP officer and former director of the FIA Cybercrime Circle, was recently awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for his role in tackling online crime. The appointments reflect the government's focus on bolstering investigative capacity and cybersecurity amid growing threats. The Establishment Division confirmed the appointments through a formal notification.
Express Tribune
10-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
IHC questions 'look-after' charge
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has admitted a petition, challenging the alleged illegal "look-after" charge of the all-important position of the chief economist of Pakistan given to the vice chancellor of a public sector university by the Planning Commission. Acting IHC Chief Justice Justice Sarfraz Dogar has asked the government to submit replies by March 26. The court has instructed that it should be provided the legal basis for giving the look-after charge of the chief economist position to the vice chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). However, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has defended the decision, saying Dr Nadeem Javaid has been appointed temporarily and there is also legal merit in the appointment. He said that Nadeem Javaid was also Member Research of the Planning Commission and thus there was modus operandi for giving him the look-after charge. The charge has been given until the regular appointment process is completed, the minister added. Soon after appointing Dr Nadeem Javaid as PIDE Vice Chancellor, the government on February 18 gave him the look-after charge of the vacant post of chief economist in clear violation of the Establishment Division's instructions of April 2021. The court admitted the petition and served notices on the day a high-powered board promoted Dr Imtiaz Ahmad, belonging to the economist group, to the highest Pay Scale-22. This makes Imtiaz Ahmad eligible for the post of chief economist or secretary in any division. The Planning Commission is entrusted with the responsibility of making Pakistan's long-term economic plans and ensuring their implementation. The petitioner, the senior most officer of Grade-21 in the economist group, challenged the look-after charge given to PIDE vice chancellor and also challenged the continued placement of his services at the disposal of the Establishment Division since December 2021. The petitioner prayed the court that it may declare that the look-after charge for the vice chancellor of a university was unlawful and devoid of legal basis. According to the Establishment Division's instructions, "there is no provision of look after charge in Civil Servants Act, 1973 and Rules made thereunder, rather an officer can be deputed temporarily as an internal arrangement to look after the work of another post for disposal of day to day work of urgent and routine nature in the Ministry, Division, Organization concerned". Going by these instructions, either one of the senior most officers should have been appointed the chief economist or the look-after charge should have been given to any of the senior most officers. The Establishment Division's instructions further read that as a matter of principle, the senior most officer is normally asked by the head of a division or department to look after the work of a post when its incumbent is temporarily away. However, the instructions further clarified "there may be certain issues which are of quasi-judicial nature and decision cannot be taken by an officer not formally designated to exercise those powers". However, Nadeem Javaid is taking all the decisions which in the routine business fall within the domain of the chief economist. The Establishment Division further stated that certain financial and administrative powers can only be exercised by an officer to whom the additional or current charge of the post is entrusted in the prescribed manner. An officer looking after the work cannot exercise such powers as he has not been delegated such powers by the competent authority, according to the Establishment Division. The petitioner prayed the court that the vice chancellor was an external element in the established hierarchy but he still was granted the look-after charge of chief economist, despite it being a promotional post. He made the Establishment Division secretary, planning secretary and Nadeem Javaid parties in the case. The petitioner asserted that the planning ministry "improperly assigned the look-after charge of the vacant position of chief economist". He contended that the assignment was unlawful as the chief economist was a promotional post. The petitioner said that the term "look-after charge" lacked statutory basis within the Civil Servants Act and constituted an attempt to circumvent the petitioner's legal right to be considered for promotion. He disclosed that he had earlier filed a writ petition before the IHC but the petition was subsequently withdrawn on September 16, 2024, premised upon assurances extended to the petitioner by senior officials that their candidacy for promotion would be duly considered.
