PESHAWAR: Despite claims of good governance and merit by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, serious issues persist in postings and transfers across the province.
According to a newspaper report, the latest administrative reshuffle has caused unrest among government officers and exposed weaknesses in the posting and transfer system.
Several senior officers are still working as Officers on Special Duty (OSDs), while junior officers have been given key positions. This has raised questions about merit and governance priorities.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi told this correspondent that all postings and transfers were made strictly on merit, according to rules and performance standards, and that no political pressure or personal choice was involved.
However, official records show that a number of senior officers, including Mehmud ul Hassan (PAS, BPS-21), Arshad Khan (PCS-SG, BPS-21), Zaka Ullah Khattak (PCS-EG, BPS-21), Amer Afaq (PMS, BPS-20), Muhammad Ali Shah (PCS-EG, BPS-20), and several others in BPS-20, are still serving as OSDs despite the availability of vacant posts.
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At the same time, several BS-19 officers have been posted to positions usually meant for BPS-20 and BPS-21 officers.
These include Abid Wazir (PAS, BS-19) as Secretary Industries, Commerce and Technical Education, and Zafar ur Islam (PAS, BS-19) as Secretary Local Government, Elections and Rural Development. Other appointments include Khalid (BS-19) as Commissioner Bannu and Captain (retd) Mian Adil Iqbal (BS-19) as Secretary Labour.
Another concern is the appointment of three BPS-21 Secretariat Group officers — Masood Ahmad, Mohammad Javed Marwat and Dawood Khan — as commissioners of Malakand, Mardan and DI Khan.
These officers have spent their entire careers in the secretariat and have not served in field positions such as assistant commissioner or deputy commissioner, raising doubts about their operational experience.
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In the Local Government Department, Secretary Zafar ur Islam (BS-19) is supervising Special Secretary Arshad Khan (BS-20), placing a senior officer under a junior one and creating further administrative imbalance.
Questions have also been raised over officers holding multiple posts. Abid Majeed (PCS-SG, BPS-21) is serving as Additional Chief Secretary Home as well as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. Similarly, Zubair (PAS, BS-19) is working both as Additional Secretary in the Governor Secretariat and as Principal Secretary to the Governor.
Other disputed postings include Adil Safi, who is serving as Managing Director ETEA while also holding the post of Special Secretary to the Chief Minister. Usman Zaman, a Public Prosecutor (BS-19), has been posted as Director General Monitoring and Evaluation in a BS-20 position, while Shah Mehmood (PAAS, BS-20) continues on deputation as Secretary Food.
It has also been reported that the Director Anti-Corruption is on deputation from the Prosecution Service and holds a BS-19 rank. In another case, Qaiser Alam from the Protocol Service has been appointed as Managing Director of the Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation, a post usually reserved for PAS or PMS officers.
These postings have strengthened concerns within the bureaucracy about violations of service rules and a lack of consistency in merit-based appointments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
