Sindh’s Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah recently went against PM Khan’s orders regarding the transfer of officials from Sindh. CM Murad directed the senior officers to not relinquish charge of their present positions until further notice.
To clarify, under the Centre’s Rotation Policy, officials who continuously served a province for more than 10 years will shift to another province. Therefore, the Centre earlier dispatched orders for the transfer of as many as 11 Grade-20 officers of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) and Police Services of Pakistan (PSP).
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However, the Sindh CM objected to the transfers. Important to note, Sindh currently faces a shortage of senior offices. As a result, the transfer will create an administrative vacuum in the province. He also claimed that the Centre did not consult the provincial government regarding the postings.
Earlier this month, CM Murad also wrote a letter to PM Khan highlighting his disagreement with the federal government’s plan. In the letter, he asked to withdraw the order of the Establishment Division.
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Moreover, the Sindh CM reminded PM Khan of the mandatory procedure of mutual consultations between the top provincial and federal authorities before making decisions related to the posting and transfer of senior officers.
According to reports, PM Imran Khan has not yet responded to the CM’s letter.
Sindh CM directs officers not to relinquish posts
In rejection of the order, the Sindh CM issued a notification to the officers directing them not to give up their posts.
Services General Administration and Coordination (S,GA,&CD) Department on Monday sent the CM’s letter to the officers.
“In continuation of the department’s letter of even number dated 25.11.2021, on the subject noted above, I am directed to state that the Honourable Chief Minister has directed to instruct you not to relinquish your charge, till further orders. You are directed to make compliance of the above-referred directives of the chief minister,” the letter read.
Needless to say, the Sindh CM’s orders sparked confusion among the officers.
Talking to the media after, CM Murad said the federal government is contravening the law on transfer and postings.
Federal government’s stance regarding the transfers
Interestingly, the Centre claims that it consulted the Sindh government regarding the transfer of officers. According to details, the federal government states that it consulted the Sindh chief secretary thrice over the matter.
“All the provinces acted accordingly but the Sindh government neither acted the same nor did it respond [to the consultations] like in the past,” Centre said.
“None of the provinces, except for Sindh, raised objections over the transfer of PSP and PAS’s Grade-20 officials,” it further added.
Moreover, the Centre maintains that it shared the list of officials approved for transfer with the Sindh government. To ensure transparency, it also shared the list on the official website.
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