PCS officers issue Pervaiz calls for amicable solution

LAHORE, March 27: Pakistan Muslim League-Q leader Pervaiz Elahi has criticised the Punjab government for using force instead of resolving the ongoing tussle between the federal (CSS) and provincial (PCS) officers in the province. In a statement issued here on Sunday, the former chief minister said Shahbaz Sharif believed in "arrests" and "dismissals" instead of solving the problems and settling the controversial affairs. He regretted that the same "fascist" mentality was shown by taking action against PCS officers as even women officers were not spared and imprisoned like criminals. He said the provincial authorities had committed a grave crime by arresting judicial magistrates without seeking permission from the Lahore High Court. Recalling a similar tussle between the two services during his tenure as the chief minister, he said he had amicably solved the controversy by making them sit on a negotiation table. But Shahbaz Sharif, he said, lacked ability and vision to settle disputes. He urged the government to seek a solution to the DMG-PCS controversy. CM's intervention: The PCS Association on Sunday urged the chief minister to intervene and save the provincial officers from the step-motherly treatment. In a statement issued here the association said the provincial officers had been suppressed during his absence abroad. Now, when he had returned he must intervene and provide justice to the provincial officers. Meanwhile, three under training PMS probationers who and seven others were arrested during a provincial officers protest in the Civil Secretariat on March 18, have been sent to the S&GAD, prematurely ending their training. They include Altaf Hussain Ansari, Muhammad Wasim and Rana Shahid Nadeem. Ansari said that all the probationers and the in-service officials undergoing training at the Management and Professional Development Department were taken to the secretariat by the senior provincial officers. Ten of the probationers were arrested and they all joined the training on March 21 after being released on bail. He said he and two others were issued show-cause notices on March 22, and when they sought documents so as to furnish reply in the stipulated seven days, they were humiliated and sent to the S&GAD.