ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has so far successfully rejected all pressures from both politicians and bureaucrats to create exceptions in the rotation policy, also known as inter-provincial transfer policy, for influential civil servants who are reluctant to leave their choice regions of posting.

However, following the provincial governments’ objection, a change has been made in the policy for the inclusion of provinces in the consultation process for policy’s implementation. A close aide to the prime minister confided to The News here on Friday that so far more than 90 percent of the transfer orders have been implemented, and others are under the process of implementation while a few have been held in abeyance because of court orders.

The source said that not even a single transfer order has been cancelled. It is added that now the government is working on second phase of transfers under which senior police officers will be reshuffled between the provinces and the Centre.

During the last few weeks, the PM as well as Establishment secretary have been under tremendous pressure to ignore the policy for the advantage of influential bureaucrats. However, despite all pressures, including even from the PTI-led provincial governments in Punjab and KP, the prime minister supported the Establishment secretary to implement the policy without any exception.

Prime Minister Imran Khan within first fortnight of his rule had amended the rotation policy for civil servants and directed the Establishment Division to implement the policy in letter and spirit without creating any exception.

The policy amended by Imran Khan included a new clause which reads as: “PAS/PSP (Pakistan Administrative Service/Police Service of Pakistan) officers of BS-21 and below who have served in any provincial government or federal government for a continuous period of not less than ten years may be transferred to the federal government or other provinces, as the case may be, in the public interest. The period spent on EOL/earned leave/study leave/OSD/training/deputation/foreign posting shall be excluded for the purpose of computing continuous period of ten years and will not be treated as a break.”

Under this policy, the Establishment Division, in the first phase, notified transfer of dozens of senior grade 20&21 PAS officers, and rotated them between the provinces and the Centre. Most of these officers joined their new posting regions, but there were some officers who were reluctant to leave their choice regions/provinces.

There are officers who exerted pressure through provincial governments, senior bureaucrats, politicians and other influential quarters on the prime minister as well as the Establishment Division to exempt them from the rotation policy. There is a realization that if such pressures succeed in creating exceptions in the rotation policy, it would lead to the total collapse of the policy as has been happening in the past.

After a long break of many years, the Imran Khan government dared started rotating, between the provinces and the Centre, bureaucrats, belonging to the most influential cadres PAS and PSP, amid apprehension if Imran Khan could implement his decision.

Almost for the last three decades, successive governments have been formulating their respective rotation policy, also known as inter-provincial transfer policy, for PAS (ex-DMG) and PSP (Police Service of Pakistan), but none, including even General (R) Musharraf during his martial law could implement it.

Every time, in the past, the implementation of the policy within first few weeks of its launch was frustrated because of the exceptions one after the other allowed by governments owing to pressures from influential bureaucrats who were reluctant to move out from the province of their choice.

The inter-provincial transfer policy, which remained dormant for the last few decades, is also considered critically important for national cohesion as officers from one province are made to serve the other provinces which ultimately help formulate national policies reflecting the needs and aspirations of people from all regions and provinces.

The PAS and PSP are included in all Pakistan services and their cadre posts are shared by the provinces and the Centre. However, in most of the cases the officers, belonging to these services, prefer serving their own provinces and regions and avoid going to other provinces.