KARACHI: The Islamabad High Court has issued a stay order on the promotion of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers. The order was issued by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan in response to a petition filed by FBR officer Sahibzadi Shahbano Ghaznavi. The court has also demanded affidavits from both the Chairman of the FBR and the Prime Minister’s Secretary.
This action has raised concerns about the principles of merit and the Pakistani Constitution, which stipulates that civil servants are employees of the state, not of any individual or political party. The biased action against Sahibzadi Shahbano Ghaznavi is seen as an example of discrimination against female officers and an attempt to remove honest and non-political officers from the system.
Senior Pakistani bureaucrat Sahibzadi Shabano Ghaznavi, a member of the FBR, was promoted to Grade 21 in 2018. However, she has been continuously placed in inactive posts to limit her performance. Over the past seven years, she has not been appointed to any significant position. When her name came up for promotion to Grade 22, she was unlawfully placed in the administrative pool.
The Islamabad High Court has taken notice of this matter and has sought an explanation from the FBR and the Establishment Division as to why a senior and honest officer was not appointed to any active position for seven years and was then placed in the administrative pool. Additionally, IRS and PCS officers are reportedly deprived of promotion due to the categorization of officers.
This case highlights the ongoing issues within the FBR and the need for transparency and fairness in the promotion process for civil servants in Pakistan.