Police Services of Pakistan (PSP):
The Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) is comprised of police officers
selected through the Federal Public Service Commission Entry is at the
level of Assistant Superintendent
of Police.
Under the old Police Act, the Police had many responsibilities. But with
the enforcement of Police Order 2002, it has been given a leadership
role alongwith lot more responsibilities and accountabilities. Every new
posting is a challenge it is a never ending war against crime, social
evils and every day problems of the people residing in a particular
area. The local representatives, i-e. Town Nazims, U C Nazims and
Councilors at the grassroot level, are the eyes and ears of the Police.
They give the information and guidance to serve the people in a better
way. Their assistance and coordination are essentially important for the
success of an area Police.
With the separation of Investigation and Prosecution, alongwith
accountability through the local representatives, the Police is heading
towards specialization and professionalism. It has time and energy to do
its assigned task, be a part of the community and respond to the needs
of the people. The Annual Policing Plan which sets the targets is
required to be approved by the local representatives. Responsibility and
accountability are, therefore, integrated in this check and balance
system. It also signifies that the era of rulers and the ruled as over.
The Local Government system, alongwith Police Order 2002, has given the
Police pride and respect. Instead of an instrument of the State power,
the Police is now merged with the community to bring peace and
prosperity to the nation as a whole. And the local population has
responded very positively to this system. Their cooperation with the
Police is encouraging. Their assistance in the construction of Police
stations, hospitals, clinics, schools, industrial homes etc for the
welfare of the Police and the public, and the initiative to establish
Medical Camps through voluntary donations of medicines, food items and
medical services in disease and flood-affected areas under the umbrella
of the Police, are manifestations of some of the local population s
support and assistance PSP is a complete way of life dedicated to the
people.
District Management Group (DMG):
Having its roots in the former Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP), the
District Management Group (DMG) despite the recent historic
restructuring of power and authority in Pakistan, continues to maintain
its niche of being a central and one of the most coveted Administrative
service groups of the Civil Service of Pakistan albeit with a slightly
changed scope and mandate. The DMG basically draws its vigor from its
singular service structure having forward and backward linkages Its
unique service organization, on one hand attracts the top achievers in
the civil services examination to this Group, and subsequently this
structure having enormous horizontal and vertical mobility chances
enables the selected officers to occupy critical and leading
administrative positions from the very beginning of their careers. It is
again these vast horizontal mobility opportunities, which facilitate
most challenging openings to the DMG officers. They usually begin
careers as administrative officers of Government at sub-division level
responsible for a combination of judicial, executive &
administrative functions. While this career opening has changed after
the separation of judiciary from executive and devolution however, the
DMG officers continue to occupy core administrative assignments in
sub-divisions, districts or provincial governments. At the same time the
DMG officers continue to have opportunities of serving in either of the
three Government levels, their secretariats, in the field or in the
semi-autonomous or autonomous bodies. It is this mobility (which
continues through out the service progression), which facilities the
growth and grooming of the DMG officers in myriad, multiple and
crosscutting fields. This career path peculiar to the DMG officers
eventually facilitates their entry into the top policy making officers
of the country.
With the restructuring of the political & administrative authority
after devolution the service structure of DMG was initially seen to be
adversely impacted after the abolition of the all-powerful positions of
the Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and the Commissioners
and the abolition of the executive magistracy’s office. Conversely the
post devolution scenario has shown that the role and the scope of the
administrative cadres especially the DMG officers occupying leadership
positions as District Coordinating Officers has increased manifolds. It
would not be out of place to mention that in the short moment of
uncertainly at the dawn of devolution, the President of Pakistan himself
assured the DMG officers about their rote in the affairs of the country
saying that he expects the DMG officers to be the standard bearers of
devolution. In his letter addressed to each DMG officer he categorically
stated that he visualizes the future role of DMG in civil society as of
a public service, motivated by the highest ideals of dedication,
capability and responsiveness to public needs.
Foreign Services of Pakistan (FSP):
Foreign Service of Pakistan was constituted on an ad hoc basis
immediately on the birth of Pakistan. The Service was first given an
executive fiat in a decision of the Federal Cabinet in July, 1948. A
formal resolution constituting the service was announced in October
1952. It envisaged diplomatic posts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and in the Diplomatic and consular missions of Pakistan abroad. The
resolution provided for the posts of (a) Secretary (1), (b) Joint
Secretaries (2), (c) Deputy Secretaries (8), and (d) Under Secretaries
(16) Posts for Pakistan Diplomatic Missions abroad provided for
Ambassadors (17), High Commissioners (5), Ministers (4), Commissioners
(1), Deputy High Commissioners (2), Counselors (15), First Secretaries
(10), Second Secretaries (19), Third Secretaries (31), Consul General
(3), Consul (4), and Vice Consul (7).
Between 1952 and 1960, the cadre strength was constantly kept under
review and was enlarged by executive orders in view of the expanding
requirements. However, shortage of personnel continued to plague the
service. The total strength of the officers gradually increased both at
the Headquarters and the Missions. In 1972 the total strength of the
officers at the Headquarters and the Missions grew to 323. At present
there are 403 officers both at the Headquarters and in our Missions.
The entry into the former Foreign Service of Pakistan through
examination began in 1948. The Recruitment to the Officers cadre
(Foreign Service of Pakistan) is through the competitive examination
conducted annually by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). The
Establishment Division in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs announces annually the number of vacancies of officers in the
Foreign Affairs Group, which vary from year to year. Officers of the
Foreign Service of Pakistan undergo common training at the Civil
Services Academy, Lahore and later are given six months specialized
training at the Foreign Service Academy, Islamabad. The officers also
undergo language training which includes Arabic, French, German,
Chinese, Spanish etc. The training facilities at the National Institute
of Modern Languages are availed to train the officers. Fully funded
Language scholarships offered by other countries are also availed. The
Ministry thus has a rich reservoir of officers who are well versed in
different languages.
The Administrative Reforms introduced in 1973 provided for a unified structure of service with distinct specialized groups.
Customs group:
he Customs Group consists of three different categories of duties and
taxes, namely, (1) Customs Duty, (2) Central Excise Duty, and (3) Sales
Tax.
Customs service is divided into three major areas of trade activities
viz (a) Imports, (b) Exports, and (c) Anti-Smuggling (Preventive)
imports is the backbone of customs service which involves payment of
customs duty on all the imports into the country. Exports are related
with foreign exchange earnings and implementation of Exports Policy.
Preventive department deals with anti-smuggling activities focusing
mainly on prevention of drug smuggling.
Central Excise service is shrinking day by day. It is now an outdated
mode of revenue collection Central Excise Duty is leviable on a few
items. With the passage of time it is likely to be diminished.
Sales Tax is the tax of future. It is based upon VAT (Value Added Tax)
mode of taxation system. It has been successfully implemented all over
the world. Presently, the Sales Tax wing is collecting the largest share
of revenue collected by CBR (Central Board of Revenue). It is a growing
and expanding service The Sales Tax Act was passed in 1990.
All these three services are under the process of TAX REFORMS. A new
vision of revenue collection and reforms has transformed the Customs,
Excise and Sales Tax group into a service of the future. By introduction
of LARGE TAX PAYERS UNIT and MODEL SALES TAX HOUSE, the Customs, Excise
and Sales Tax group has become an agent of change. It is now the most
modern, high-tech and forward looking service of the country.
Accounts group:
Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service operates under the constitution
1973, article 144 to 176, and is presently being run through
Presidential Order No 23/2001.
The functions and powers of Auditor General Pakistan have been defined
in the above mentioned order. The Auditor General enjoys a tenure
posting of five years under the constitution. He is responsible to
maintain accounts of the public sector organizations and is responsible
to conduct audit of the same.
Recently the accounting functions of the Auditor General have been
assigned to the Controller General of Accounts. The Controller General
functions under the Auditor General of Pakistan. The Auditor General of
Pakistan presents the annual accounts of the Ministries and Departments
to the Federal and Provincial Public Accounts Committees respectively.
The Accounting Offices of the Controller General of Accounts have been
mainly divided into three major wings i.e. Civil (Federal / Provincial
Governments), Railways and Military Accounts. These three wings are
audited by independent offices headed by Directors General at the
Federal and Provincial Level. The Audit of Military and Railway Wings is
conducted at the Federal Level by the Audit Offices operating at the
National Level. The Audit Reports are presented to the Federal Public
Accounts Committee by the Auditor General and at the Provincial Level by
respective Directors General.
Commerce and Trade group:
Consequent upon the introduction of Administrative Reforms of 1973
aiming to create Civil Services of specialized nature and
responsibility, the Trade Service of Pakistan (TSP) was changed into
Commerce & Trade Group to administer Export Promotion Bureau, Office
of the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports, National Tariff
Commission, Trade Marks Registry and Department of Insurance. The posts
of Commercial Secretary/Counsellor in Pakistani missions abroad have
been kept open to all services, due to the fact that the Office
Memorandum under which the Commerce & Trade Group was created did
not mention these posts.
Presently 50% posts in foreign missions are encadered in Commerce &
Trade Group Departments like Tariff Commission, Office of the Chief
Controller of Imports & Exports, Department of Insurance etc. are
either working as autonomous bodies or declared as defunct
organizations. Export Promotion Bureau has also been decided to be
dismembered with the creation of autonomous body dealing with the
marketing side. All this has squeezed the group into a smaller entity.
As a result, there is no prospect for career planning for the young
officers. The people at the helm of affairs may have to find new avenues
for providing better career management through encaderment of 100%
posts of Commercial Secretary/Counsellor in the foreign missions,
encaderment of posts in different departments of the Ministries like
Industries and Finance and in Provincial departments dealing with trade
and commerce, and through promotional quota in Secretariat Group.
Income Tax group:
Income Tax Department is the wing of the Revenue Division (CBR) dealing
with the collection of direct taxes, i.e. Income Tax and Wealth Tax.
Very few people know about the specialized nature of the income tax work
and the dedication and the hard work it demands. In recent times, there
has been a lot of attention on the financial services in the structure
of civil bureaucracy. Revenue collection is, by its very nature, an
important job and with the ever diminishing foreign aid, the importance
of tax collection is now being appreciated by everyone.
Income Tax Department is in the throes of change these days. The
business processes, procedures and hierarchy is being remodeled to
change the Department to a tax friendly, responsive and efficient
organization. This restructuring also involves the reengineering of
recruitment process, there is also focus on the implementation of
information technology.
The Central Board of Revenue is probably the first government department
to have a full-fledged Human Resource Wing with a senior person, of the
level of member, heading it. There is considerable focus on evaluating
the in vogue business procedures, infact, the present restructuring is
aimed at a complete re-engineering of the business process of revenue
collection. In a few years time, this Department will have evolved into
an efficient tax friendly organization with a lean but highly trained
and motivated workforce.
As a part of this strategy, model tax offices have been created at
Karachi and Lahore for one or two classes of taxpayers. Further reforms
will take into account, the experience gained during the operation of
these pilot projects etc. As can be inferred from the focus and emphasis
on the restructuring of the Income Tax and Sales Tax Departments, the
Government is committed to bring about a positive change in the way the
taxpayer and the tax collector interact and perceive each other.
Already there are indications that the Income Tax Group has moved up to
number 2 or 3 in the priority list of the candidates aspiring to enter
the prestigious civil service of Pakistan.
Information group:
Like other Occupational Groups of the Central Superior Services (CSS),
the Information Group plays a vital role in national image building
within and abroad. After the completion of Common Training Programme at
the Civil Services Academy, Lahore, the probationers join Information
Services Academy in Islamabad with a view to acquiring specialized
training in media management and public relations. On completion of
specialized training, these officers are posted in (1) Press Information
Department (PID) (2) External Publicity Wing (EP Wing) (3) Internal
Publicity Wing (4) ABC (5) Directorate of Films and Publications (DFP),
(6) Cyber Wing etc in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
The Information Group officers posted in Press Information Department
(PID) constantly work for the image building of federal ministries and
their attached departments. These officers act as a bridge between the
government and the media The Press Information Department is a very
important department of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
This department is headed by Grade 21 Information Group officer PID
headquarter is situated in Islamabad with its regional offices in
Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad and Hyderabad. The
External Publicity Wing (EP Wing) is the attached department of the
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting headed by a Grade 21 officer
of Information Group. EP Wing keeps constant liaison with Pakistani
missions/embassies abroad. It also facilitates the visiting foreign
journalists The Directorate of Films and Publications prepares
documentaries and publications on the culture and civilization of
different provinces of Pakistan It also brings out documentaries and
special editions on important national occasions.
The Information Group officers are poised to serve in the power corridor
They are usually posted as PRO, Press Secretary, Media Manager to
Federal Ministers (Ministries) etc The senior officers participate in
decision making at the highest level Officers of Grade 18 and above are
posted as Press Attaché, Press Counselor and Press Minister at Pakistani
missions/embassies abroad These officers project the image of Pakistan
and counter the anti Pakistan propaganda The Information Group officers
are also posted in corporations and other federal government departments
on deputation.
Railways group:
Pakistan Railways forms the life line of the country catering to all its
needs for the large scale movement of freight as well as passenger
traffic thereby contributing to economic growth and national
integration.
Pakistan Railways is a multi-cadre/multi branch organization and can be
dubbed as a mini-govt. For running a huge organization like that of
Railways, various branches are serving to run the business smoothly. The
Railways Commercial & Transportation (C&T) group plays the most
important role as such it is the only cadre in Railways, inducted
through CSS and is a part of Civil Services Academy Alumni C&T group
is also called as operating and management department as it is solely
responsible for the promotion of commercial business (freight &
passenger) and for overall safety concerning train movement and
operations.
Before 1971 Railways was a provincial subject as East and West Pakistan
were under one unit system, and prior to 1973, this service was called
the Pakistan Railway Service (PRS). Its officers were inducted through
competitive examination. The probationary officers were trained at PR
Walton Training School, Lahore directly. After 1973, like all other
occupational groups, Railways C&T officers inducted through CSS,
started its journey along with other occupational groups as commoners.
The first Railways commoner was Mr Nasir Zaidi, whereas in 30th CTP
almost 15 probationers started their career as probationary officers at
CSA Lahore. Railway administration runs the department at three levels
i.e. Ministerial level, Headquarter level and at Divisional levels (six
divisions). Important policy and strategic matters are sought after at
First level, whereas, operational and administrative policies are
formulated at Headquarter level by GM Railways and COPS (Chief Operating
Superintendent), and train operations and commercial affairs at
divisions are carried out at divisional offices under the co-ordination
of DS (Divisional Superintendent).
Despite various shortcomings and problems, officers of C&T group are
striving for bringing the best in Railways and ultimately in Pakistan
and are proud to be a part of Railways family of commoners.
Postal Group:
The Postal Group mainly comprises the Pakistan Post Office which is one
of the oldest departments of the Sub-Continent working under Pakistan
Post Office Act, 1898. It is one of the largest public sector
organizations with over 13,000 post offices dedicated to providing high
quality postal and financial services at minimum possible cost. Besides,
it also performs a number of important functions on behalf of other
Federal and Provincial Government Departments / Institutions which,
inter-alia include (1) Post Office Savings Bank, (2) Postal Life
Insurance, (3) Civil & Military Pension Payments, (4) Collection of
Utility Bills, (5) Renewal of Driving and Arms Licences, (6) Issuing P 1
V Licence etc. Organizational procedure and processes of the Post
Office have been mastered through time and experience, and are ingrained
In the organizational spirit and ethos.
Direct induction in the Gazetted ranks was a rare practice in Post
Office Department. But as a result of reforms introduced in Civil
Services structure by the then Prime Minister in the year 1972, the
Postal Group was formed and young officers started joining the group
regularly every year since 1973.
Until 1985, promotion in the Postal Group was also very rapid. But now a
newly inducted officer in B-17 has to wait for about 10 to 12 years for
his promotion in BPS-18. Yet the group has an edge over certain other
services groups, such as posting in big cities, suitable medical,
transport and accommodation facilities for its officers, and deputation
to various training courses within and outside the country. The Postal
Group is relatively a smaller group. Its present strength is only 183
officers.
The Pakistan Post Office is purely a public services department
rendering diverse postal services to the customers with the sole mission
of Khidmat, Dianat & Amanat. The dawn of the new millennium has
introduced a great development in the postal area across the world, and
the Pakistan Post Office today is playing a positive role in conveying
and disseminating information and ideas relating to the whole range of
human activities in political, social, economic, cultural, industrial
and commercial sectors.
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