After the police crackdown against the Jirga of Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province yesterday, the provincial government has said that this action was taken on the instructions of the federal government.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif has said in his statement on the action against PTM yesterday that ‘the federal government had asked the chief secretary to take action against PTM in a letter.’
Barrister Saif said, “The letter states that PTM is promoting anti-state narrative, so action should be taken against them.”
However, a new debate has started on the social media that if the police is of the provincial government, then how can it act in a province on the instructions of the federal government.
Central President of Awami National Party, Amil Wali Khan, says that ‘if the police belongs to the province, then this is a provincial matter and the chief minister has to take the answer from the police, so why is the debris being dropped on the federal government.’
On the same issue, Independent Urdu spoke to constitutional experts and tried to know whether constitutionally and legally, the federal government has the right to instruct the police of the province to take action against anyone or not.
Appointment of Chief Secretary and IG
First let’s know how the chief secretary in any province and the head of police of the province who is known as Provincial Police Officer or more commonly known as Inspector General (IG) of Police are appointed.
As far as the appointment of the Chief Secretary is concerned, the appointment of the Chief Secretary in any province is done under the Civil Service Composition and Cadre Rules, 1954.
This Act was enacted by the then President, the Governors of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then Frontier Province) and under this Act the Pakistan Administrative Service was started, in which officers were recruited after an examination by the Federal Public Service Commission. are
The law states that officers of this service will be appointed to certain posts in the province, including the Chief Secretary.
Clause No. 15 of this law states that the Chief Secretary will be appointed on the proposal of the Federal Government, the concerned Provincial Government or the Chief Minister and some names will be sent to the Chief Minister for appointment.
However, according to the law, if the Chief Minister does not respond within 15 days, then the Prime Minister will have the power to appoint a Chief Secretary and this officer will belong to the Pakistan Administrative Service.
Similarly, the appointment of police chief or IG is also done in which the list of names as per law is sent to the concerned provincial government or the Chief Minister and on the proposal of the Chief Minister, the Prime Minister orders the appointment of the IG.
According to Clause No. 14 of this Act, the employees of this service may be posted in any part of the country as per the orders of the Federal Government and shall perform their duties under the Government of the respective Province.
According to the same law, after posting, the officer concerned will be at the disposal of the provincial government until he is posted elsewhere.
What Chief Secretary? And the IG is accountable to the Chief Minister?
Supreme Court lawyer Umar Gilani is a constitutional expert and a member of The Law and Policy Chamber, which has worked on the legal aspects of the issue.
Umar Geelani told Independent Urdu that “One third of the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan are related to provincial autonomy and that is why it is written in Article No. 240 of the Constitution that federal employees are appointed by the Act of Parliament and provincial employees or appointed by the provincial government.” will be under the rules of
However, according to Umar Gilani: ‘Article No. 242 also specifies that there will be a Provincial Public Service Commission for provincial employees and a Federal Public Service Commission for the Federation.’
Umar Geelani said that ‘on the contrary, in 77 years, no province has appointed any officer of the Provincial Public Service Commission as the Chief Secretary and the notification of the appointment of the Chief Secretary in the province is also done by the federal government like it appoints the Viceroy. .’
According to Umar Gilani: ‘The problem is that if the entire cabinet of the province is not happy with the Chief Secretary, then no one can touch the Chief Secretary and can only write letters against him to the Federal Establishment Division. .
“Apart from the Chief Secretary, according to the law, federal government officers are appointed in the province, including commissioners, district police officers, and officers of other departments.”
Umar Gilani said that this matter and the appointment of Federal Service Commission employees in the provinces is unconstitutional, but it is not being paid attention to, and besides, this system discriminates against the talented employees who are appointed in the provincial service commissions. There is also the attitude that they cannot reach important positions.
In this February 17, 2024 photo, Ali Amin Gandapur holds up a portrait of Imran Khan, founder chairman of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, at a rally against alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections (AFP)
What is the date of posting in Central Provinces?
Umar Gilani said in this regard that ‘first this law of appointment was passed in 1915 before the partition of India when under the Government of India Act 1915 federal officers were appointed to important positions.’
He said that the reason behind this was that the British did not trust the provincial bureaucrats or politicians and that is why they used to appoint their favorite officers in important positions in the provinces and even after 118 years we still have the same. are stuck in the law.’
What is the legality of the federal government’s letter?
Shabbir Hussain Gagiani is a constitutional expert and a lawyer of Peshawar High Court and says that after the Eighteenth Amendment, the responsibility of police and law and order is a provincial matter and the federal government cannot interfere in it.
He told Independent Urdu that ‘the present government tried to change the chief secretary and the IG but they could not because both the officers have been appointed by the federal government and are working at their behest.’
According to Shabbir Gagiani: ‘The appointment of the Chief Secretary is made by the federal government but with the advice of the provincial government and the notification of appointment is issued by the federal government.
“But in the case of PTM, the federal government has not told to take action against their Jirga, but to keep an eye on them.”
According to Shabbir Hussain Gagiani: ‘If the letter was written by the federal government, then the provincial government should have written a reply letter to submit evidence and other documents in this regard so that the provincial government can act on it.’
He said that “first, according to the law, a letter should have been written by the federal government to the chief minister’s secretariat or the chief minister or the relevant provincial department so that it is acted upon according to the constitution and law, but this has not been done.”
Barrister Ali Gohar Durrani is a Supreme Court of Pakistan lawyer and expert in constitutional matters.
He told Independent Urdu that ‘no one, whether Chief Secretary, IG or Chowkidar, is not subject to obeying any unconstitutional and illegal orders.’
Ali Gohar said that ‘If we talk about the Police Service of Pakistan, the officers up to scale 17 in the province are employees of the provincial government and work under the provincial police act and they are not subject to the federal government.’
He further said that ‘the employees under the IG or the Chief Secretary are not subject to obeying any unconstitutional orders whether those orders are of the federal government or the provincial government.’
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Can the chief minister take action against a chief secretary or an IG, Ali Gohar said in response that ‘regarding the chief secretary and the IG, the provincial government can tell the federal government that we do not want the services of this officer. And the province can give anyone additional charge as IG or Chief Secretary.’
On this issue, an official of PMS Officers Association, the representative organization of the provincial management service, told Independent Urdu that ‘we have written letters to all relevant institutions including the Registrar Supreme Court, Prime Minister, Auditor General, regarding the appointment of federal employees in the province. have sent that the appointment of federal employees in the provinces is unconstitutional.
However, according to the official: ‘Provincial governments in the past and still have not taken this issue seriously as under Article 240 and 242 of the Constitution, provincial employees will be appointed after recruitment by the Provincial Public Service Commission.’
According to the official: ‘Even today the Chief Minister can appoint a provincial employee as Chief Secretary of his choice and no one can challenge this appointment.
“In recent days, during the vacation of the Chief Secretary, the provincial employee was given the charge of Additional Chief Secretary and it was done on the order of the Chief Minister, which was a completely constitutional move.”
According to the same official: ‘What kind of system is it that the chief executive of the province i.e. the chief minister cannot hold the provincial chief secretary or the IG accountable and these employees are not accountable to the chief minister but they get their salary from the province which is strange.’
The official said that ‘Legally, the federal government can make a request to the province on a matter, but it cannot issue orders and the province is not obliged to obey these orders.’
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2024-10-05 16:27:45
