Planning cadre officers upset over induction of ex-Fata employees

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision to merge the project employees of the erstwhile Fata with the Provincial Planning Service (PPS) cadre has triggered a wave of unrest among the officers of the planning cadre, who joined the service after passing a competitive examination conducted by the KP Public Service Commission (KPPSC).

Several officers of the PPS cadre told Dawn that first the project employees of the former Fata were regularised with the merging of the Fata with KP and now the government had decided to induct them into the planning cadre.

“The induction will have an impact on the promotion of the officers working in BPS-18 and BPS-17,” a senior official of the PPS cadre said.

The provincial cabinet has approved the induction of the ex-Fata project regularised employees into the PPS Cadre in the recent cabinet meeting held on May 1.

They insist govt’s move to impact their promotion

According to official data, three officers in BPS-19 will be merged in the PPS cadre, 21 officers in BPS-18, 39 in BPS-17 and 182 other employees in different grades below BPS-17.

“There is no provision of lateral entry into the service as per the existing rules and the law,” an official said.

He said that the induction of ex-Fata project regularised employees into the PPS cadre is likely to trigger a series of complex administrative and legal repercussions. The issue of seniority among the Fata employees themselves is expected to become contentious, with individuals contesting their relative positions.

Furthermore, the official said that seniority concerns between the KPPSC recommended officers and the newly inducted may give rise to internal disputes, especially where perceived inequities in placement or tenure exist.

At the same time, existing PPS officers, particularly those from KPPSC recommended batches (e.g., Batch-I, II and III), are likely to challenge the inclusion of Fata employees in the cadre, further complicating the matter.

These overlapping claims are likely to result in prolonged litigation, rendering the seniority structure sub judice for an extended period. As a consequence, the finalisation of seniority lists may be indefinitely delayed, creating a bottleneck in career progression mechanisms.

This would directly impede the convening of Promotion Selection Boards (PSBs) and halt promotions across the cadre, leading to administrative stagnation, reduced morale, and potential inefficiencies in service delivery.

In 2021, under the Regularisation of Employees of Erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas Act, 2021, a total of 15 projects were regularised. Subsequently, the Additional Chief Secretary (Planning & Development) on the request of project regularised Fata employees initiated a summary proposing the encadrement of 44 officers and 182 officials from these projects into the Provincial Planning Service (PPS).

To examine the matter, a committee was constituted under the chair of the Special secretary of the P&D department.

However, serious concerns regarding the transparency and impartiality of the process were later raised. In 2024, the secretary of the establishment department, formally observed that two members of the said committee were direct beneficiaries of the proposed encadrement and one of the committee members, himself had a close relative among the beneficiaries, creating a clear conflict of interest.

The establishment department also highlighted a critical gap in the records, noting that there was no verifiable data regarding the total number of employees regularised across the 15 projects.

Despite this, the committee recommended the inclusion of 44 officers and 182 supporting staff into PPS without a transparent or verifiable basis.

In light of these serious irregularities, it was proposed by the establishment secretary that a fresh, impartial committee be constituted with representation from establishment, finance and law departments. Although such a committee was notified, it never convened any meeting.

Why has PPS been selectively opened for encadrement, when other closed and competitive services such as CSS and PMS do not permit such inductions, an official questioned.

He said that why is the integrity of a merit-based system, where recruitment is conducted strictly through the Public Service Commission, being compromised?

“What precedent does this set for the thousands of ongoing and future projects across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Will all such project employees now claim encadrement?”

An office-bearer of the Provincial Planning Service Association said that the induction of the ex-Fata employees into the PPS was an injustice to this cadre.

“The authorities at the helm of affairs first recruit their near and dear in the projects and then regularise them on different pretext,” he said. He said that the PPS association has also sent a letter to PTI founder Imran Khan to take notice of the issue.

He said that former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur had rejected the induction of these officers into the PPS cadre and had directed to constitute a committee to listen to all stakeholders in this regard. He said that they will challenge it in the court of law once the government announces the induction.

When contacted, a senior official of the planning and development department said that the government was inducting the ex-Fata employees in light of the directives issued by the Supreme Court and decision of the provincial cabinet.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2026

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