Gilgit-Baltistan Professional and United Officers Association demands equal rights, service benefits

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Professional and United Officers Association (GB-PUOA) has submitted a charter of demands to the Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani, citing grievances related to the discrimination in service benefits and unequal rights.

According to a letter written by the President of the Officers Association, Sartaj Hussain, the charter of demands was first submitted to the then Chief Minister GB in November 2019 and discussed in the Gilgit-Baltistan Cabinet meeting in December 2019. However, even after three years have passed, the GB Government has not made any progress in addressing these grievances.

The officers, as stated in the letter, have been denied equal rights and service benefits that are accessible to professional officers in other provinces, as well as in AJ&K.

The officers have requested that a 30% quota be allocated in the Gilgit-Baltistan Secretariat for officers working in different line departments, similar to other provinces, to rationalize the present practice of posting amongst only one group of service and creating a clear discrimination by granting extra ordinary in-service benefits to only one category.

The officers have also requested that pay and allowances, like executive allowance/incentive allowance, utility allowance, house hiring, and other incentives, be granted to all other cadres working in equal grades and delivering the same and equal responsibilities assigned to them in line departments.

The officers have further requested recoupment of re-designated posts of professional cadre/line departments.

They have also requested specific quotas for officers of line departments in GB to be allotted proportionate to their total strength in nomination for higher training courses in MCMC, SMC, NMC, and other trainings/courses within Pakistan and abroad.

The officers have also requested that training for newly inducted/appointed officers in line departments be arranged, and capacity-building programs be conducted on a regular basis.

Additionally, they have requested that the post of Director Generals in various departments be created to address the deprivation faced by senior officers in line departments for the last 10 to 15 years due to no further line of promotion. The posts of DGs may be filled among officers having mandatory professional background, qualification, and experience on relevancy basis from the relevant line departments.

The officers have also requested the creation and upgradation of posts on a need and merit basis for better public service delivery.

They have urged that all the line departments of GB be re-organized and strengthened in line with similar departments in the rest of provinces in Pakistan. The service structure of some of the departments has not been approved as yet, which needs to be approved to address the genuine issues of the line departments.

The officers hope that their genuine demands and grievances will be given due heed by the GB Government, and the authority in the helm of affairs will realize the urgency to resolve the issue on a priority basis, enabling the concerned deprived officers to give their full delivery in their respective assigned jobs wholeheartedly and to address the fundamental rights of the officers working in line departments.