PoK: Gilgit-Baltistan civil servants protest 'discrimination'
Sep 18, 2023
Gilgit-Baltistan [PoK], September 18 : The discriminatory sections in the Rules of Business 2009 irritate government officials in Gilgit-Baltistan government Service, who went on strike on September 12 on the day of the caretaker prime minister's arrival to the territory, The News International reported.
In June 2023, the members and cabinet of the Gilgit-Baltistan Civil Service Association (GBCSA) managed to effect amendments to the ROB under the guidance of the previous GB cabinet led by then-chief minister Khalid Khurshid Khan, and the objectionable clause was removed from the RoB, among other changes.
Section-C (18)(4) of the RoB 2009 of GB prohibits local cadre officials from becoming Additional Chief Secretary (Dev), Home Secretary, and Finance Secretary since these positions [must] be reserved for officers of the All Pakistan Unified Group (APUG).
According to The News International, the GBCSA challenged this section in the GB-RoB, claiming that it is colonial, discriminatory, and disrespectful not just to GB government workers but to the entire people of GB.
Because GB is not a constitutional province, applying the vacancy-sharing formula is irrational, if not unlawful, according to the GBCSA.
The organisation said that the chief secretary recently addressed a letter to the prime minister in July and was successful in having the revisions made to RoB 2009 of GB by the previous cabinet, CM, and governor revoked without consulting proper legal forums, The News International reported.
The GBCSA President, Mir Waqar Ahmad, demanded an investigation into the illegal reversal of modifications made in RoB.
They stated that their protest would continue uninterrupted until the responsible party was identified.
According to GBCSA, there is no merit-based transfer posting policy.
Secretaries of departments are transferred on a quarterly basis in the United Kingdom without regard for policy, but rather for refusing to comply with personal orders of the chief minister and his cabinet ministers, causing the entire system to paralyse as no secretary is willing to perform in anticipation of being transferred.
