Prevailing tussle between center and Punjab government over appointment of provincial Chief Secretary (CS) witnessing a dent in working relationship of Chief Executive Pervaiz Elahi and the CS office amid causing severe governance crisis.
Population in Punjab facing multifarious problems in the current political scenario as the people at the helm of affairs failed to support flood affected victims across the Punjab who are looking for actual power corridors to give them a helping hand in rehabilitation process.
Chief executive of the province cannot exercise guiding, controlling and supervising functions for delivery across the board particularly in catastrophic flood situation in the prevailing set of rifts.
It is pertinent to mention that Pervaiz Elahi led government of the PTI in Punjab has taken many attempts to transfer the incumbent Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal, however, federal government turned a deaf ear to the wishful thinking of Punjab government.
During last month, Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has desired that one of the officers – Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera (BS-22), Abdullah Khan Sumbal (BS-21) and Babar Hayat Tarar (BS-22) – may be considered for the posting of the Punjab chief secretary in order of priority,”. Earlier during August this year, the CM’s principal secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti wrote to the secretary Establishment Division whose copy was also forwarded to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, center has denied the desire of Elahi.
The appointment of Chief Secretary is a matter of tradition, made by the federal government in all provinces. However, prima facie it’s the violation of Constitution and Civil Servant Act 1974. Nothing has mentioned in any law of the land that federal government is competent to appoint Chief Secretary in a province but federal government has adopted a custom to fill the slot since 1974 which is ultra vires to the Constitution.
Question arises who is constitutionally competent to appoint a chief secretary in a province under law of the land. The post of chief secretary is neither federal nor a common post between the federation and a province. It is a post connected with the affairs of a province in connection with Article 240 (b) and Provincial civil servants’ acts. The executive, legislative and financial authority of the federation cannot extend to the post of chief secretary bearing provincial legislative, executive and financial authority. The provincial government is constitutionally competent to appoint the chief secretary from the service of the province. The present mode of appointment by the federal government through the disputed agreement violates the fundamental principles of the constitution.
While talking to TLTP, former operational head of Qatar Red Crescent in Pakistan and a veteran lawyer Sharafat Ali Chaudhry said, “In the given circumstances, when a rift between federal and the Punjab government prevails there is no cavil to appoint chief secretary from the provincial administrative service in order to ensure delivery across the board”. Sharafat was of the view that rescue relief, recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation in the existing catastrophic flood in the province requires an immediate decision to appoint chief secretary in accordance to the whims of Chief Minister Elahi.
