The Azad
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly secretariat has received more than 3000
applications for the 48 non-gazetted posts advertised last week, in what reflects growing unemployment in the region.
However,
little does majority of the applicants know that it would merely be waste of
time, energy and money for them, as the people already holding these positions
are most likely to be regularised through the duplicitous selection process, it
has been learnt.
Interestingly,
a group of ruling Peoples Party workers, led by Khawaja Atif Bashir, has
already voiced serious concern about the “underhand recruitment procedures” in
AJK Legislative Assembly, by staging a demonstration on a bustling thoroughfare
here, during which an effigy of Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq was also torched.
Background
interviews by this scribe with Legislative Assembly officials, who declined to
be identified for fear of grudge-bearing actions by their high ups, revealed
that every speaker had been clandestinely creating posts, making appointments
of favourites and later getting them confirmed through so called
test/interviews by the departmental selection committee(s).
The
recently advertised positions had once again brought this iniquitous practice into
spotlight as, according to insiders, all were already filled by two former
speakers - Shah Ghulam Qadir and
Chaudhry Anwaar ul Haq - as well as the incumbent speaker.
According
to the AJK Legislative Assembly Recruitment (Terms and Conditions) Act, 1976, the speaker can create
any new post up to BPS-16, without the approval of Finance Committee, which he
heads himself.
He can also create
posts in BPS-17 and above but for a period of six months. For creation of
BPS-17 and above posts on permanent basis, Finance Committee’s approval is
required.
Mr Qadir,
who remained speaker from July 2006 to August 2010, had created 12 posts,
whereas Mr Haq had created 39 posts from August 2010 to July 2011. The
incumbent speaker, who assumed this office in July 2011, had so far created 6
posts, according to Legislative Assembly secretary Chaudhry Basharat Hussain.
It may be
relevant to mention here that the AJK Finance Department was at odds with the
LA secretariat for “wanton creation of posts” in it and had not included these
57 posts in the current year’s budget, notwithstanding their “approval by the Legislative
Assembly’s Finance Committee,” where lone dissenting voice was raised by PML-N
legislator Chaudhry Tariq Farooq.
Sources
said apart from the fresh posts, the speakers had also been making appointments
against other posts falling vacant due to promotions, up-gradations or
retirements of employees. Even the incumbent speaker had so far made at least
18 appointments in the same fashion.
Interestingly,
speaker’s own son Khurrum Sadiq was inducted as ‘protocol officer’ in BPS-17 in
August 2011 allegedly through a backdated order (issued) by Mr Haq, whereas
information minister Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi’s younger brother Basit Naqvi was
inducted by Mr Haq as assistant protocol officer in BPS-16, after the
announcement of June 2011 election schedule.
The duo
was separately confirmed over the last four months by “fulfilling the formality
of advertisement and subsequent test/interviews by the departmental selection
committees,” source said.
The
committee which found Khurrum Sadiq “suitable” for the post was headed by
deputy speaker Shaheen Dar.
The
selection of incumbent speaker’s son was reminiscent of confirmation in 2004 of
the son and brother in law of the then speaker Sardar Siab Khalid against two
gazetted posts by a committee, headed by the then secretary who had in return
got his own son confirmed in the same manner.
Sources
confided that while 48 posts had been advertised for confirmation of the incumbents
after stoppage of their salaries by the Accountant General’s office, at least
30 more posts, also already being occupied, were yet to be put to the same
process.
At the
moment, the strength of the AJK Legislative Assembly secretariat staffers has touched the figure of 379. This is too high strength for a (currently) 48-member
house, which hardly meets for more than 25 days in a calendar year.
When
questioned by this scribe as to why it had taken too long to advertise these
posts, Speaker Ghulam Sadiq said these posts were created and temporarily filled before his
period without advertising them and after assuming office he had twice passed
orders for test/interviews but the process got delayed “due to one or the other
reason.”
He claimed
he was the only speaker who had not created any post, but later admitted he had
also created six posts.
When his
attention was drawn to the previous practice of confirming the incumbents
through test/interviews, he said: “It’s the responsibility of the (selection)
committee to make selections on merit, even if it goes against the incumbents.”
LA
secretary also vowed that as member of the selection committee he would “try
his best to make selections on merit.”
Meanwhile,
the demonstrators at the CMH Road called upon the AJK’s superior judiciary and
Ehtesab Bureau to take notice of “slaughter of merit and morality in the LA
secretariat.”
“Its not just injustice but
ruthlessness. Poor dupes do not know that this process is merely an eyewash,” said
young PPAJK leader Khawaja Atif Bashir…. Tariq Naqash
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