Hand in hand with the so called elite bureaucracy, our government is harshly punishing provincial officers (PCS/ PMS/ PSS) of Punjab for trying to attain their rightful share and speaking the truth. It was Friday 18th March 2011 when, provincial officers considered of an inferior race in their own province peacefully gathered in the front lawn of the Punjab Civil Secretariat in order to raise their voice against injustice by DMG officers and their bad governance in the province. After a small and brief peaceful demonstration (which is a constitutional right) officers started dispersing in order to offer their Friday prayers, when the DMG officers hatched a shameful plot to teach a lesson to the inferior race for exercising their right to free speech against their injustice. Seventy three male and female officers of grade 17 and above including a blind officer were taken into custody by riot police and escorted into two police vans like farm animals. The arrested officers were tortured for the next 24 hours or so. DMG officers are deputed by the Federal government to work in different provinces of Pakistan for Inter-Provincial Coordination, the number of seats they are posted against are based on the quota assigned to them in 1993 Moeen Qureshi formula, which for all the provinces start from 25% for BPS-17, 40% for BPS-18, 50% for BPS-19, 60% for BPS-20 and 65% for BPS-21. It is pertinent to mention here that above mentioned quota was devised by the DMG class to facilitate themselves. This notorious Moeen Qureshi Formula was not even notified and was kept Confidential to keep the things in the mist. This reverse pyramid of power exposes the hunger for power of elite bureaucracy. However, the logic says that there should be simple pyramid i.e. large number of seats at bottom and a few number of seats at the top. PCS/PMS/PSS officers are demanding to abolish this notorious Moeen Qureshi formula. Objectively speaking, state element is exploiting another state element, and both elements have now come face to face, heading towards a collision. Elite bureaucracy seems to have made it a matter of personal ego and further making it difficult for the government to control the situation. Senior DMG officers have hijacked few key political leaders and portraying a rosy picture before them, by saying that there is just partial strike in the Civil Secretariat and in the districts. If so, I would question, why have they imposed 144, deployed hundreds of policemen and Rangers? Why are they suspending, transferring and arresting hundreds of Provincial Management Officers, if all is well? I would request CM Punjab to open his eyes to the gravity of deteriorating situation and take notice of strike and engage all stakeholders in a meaningful dialogue to resolve genuine issues of provincial officers. The issue will be resolved on the table and the sooner it is resolved, the better it is not only for all stakeholders but for the common people. Mayo Khan Lahore