Punjab govt toughens up for management officers

LAHORE With every passing day, the Punjab government is toughening its stance regarding the Provincial Management Officers since the political leadership has declined to meet the 'terminated office bearers of the officers representative association, whereas the remaining bigheads are facing difficulties in finding a way out of the quagmire. Now this issue has fallen on second priority, if not lowest, since the doctors have gone on strike, and the government is spending its all energies on resolving the crisis to provide essential service to the masses. The administration will follow the rules and that too with its routine approach. Nothing else By the way, is this an issue anymore? questioned a senior officer, who has been privy to the developments. He was of the considered opinion that the protesting officers themselves had run out of options, and quite a few them are making desperate efforts for saving their scratched skins. Besides the severity of actions, the tone and tenor of the government can be further grasped by the response of the Punjab Assembly to the problem. During the last session, PPPs MPA Sajida Mir raised the issue twice on the floor. To her first time assertion, Speaker Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan announced holding of the meeting within three days, but it was never materialised. While for the second, Minister Law Rana Sanaullahs reply 96 per cent demands have been actualised was enough to close the chapter. Secondly, the PMS officers also called on the Speaker later on, but nothing came out of it afterwards, like the way officers meeting with Governor Punjab Sardar Lateef Khan Khosa. After arrests of provincial officers on March 18, the administration followed it up by suspensions and transfers to far-flung areas, which has certainly created deep-seated hatred among the provincial officers for the incumbent baboos of the All Pakistan Unified Group. Then recently, final notices have been served upon the officers frontrunners, including their chief Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, who has been virtually singled out of any prospective meeting/s with political and administrative bigwigs, if there would be any, confided sources. Through notices, they have been asked to appear before officers Rai to appear before the Chief Secretary on April 11 and if they choose to stay away, it would be automatically considered that they had nothing to say in their defence. This means that the government would have the right to decide their fate in absentia.