The Pakistan Administrative Service, or PAS () (previously known as the District Management Group or DMG before 1 June 2012) is an elite cadre of the Civil Services of Pakistan. The Pakistan Administrative Service over the years has emerged as the most consolidated and developed post-colonial institution in Pakistan, with the PAS officers of Grade 22 often seen as stronger than the federal government ministers. The service of PAS is generalist in nature and officers are assigned to different departments all across Pakistan during the course of their careers. Almost all of the country's highest-profile positions such as the Federal Secretaries, the provincial Chief Secretaries, and chairmen of top-heavy organizations like the National Highway Authority, Trading Corporation of Pakistan and State Life Insurance Corporation usually belong to the Pakistan Administrative Service. Pakistani Flag

Officers in this occupational group are recruited through a national competitive examination held once a year by the Federal Public Service Commission. Those selected for this group have to undergo a two-year training programme at the Civil Services Academy (CSA) in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

History

The

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

(ICS)—also known once as

Imperial Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, predecessor of the Civil Service of Pakistan and District Management Group—was established by the British to colonize India and perpetuate the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. After Indian independence in 1947, the Indian Civil Service component ceded to Pakistan was renamed the Civil Service of Pakistan. In 1954, an agreement was reached between the Governor General of Pakistan and the governors of the provinces to constitute an All-Pakistan service valid throughout Pakistan. Later under the administrative reforms of 1973, the name of Civil Service of Pakistan was changed to District Management Group, which became one of thirteen occupational groups under the All-Pakistan Unified Groups (APUG). Since 1973, each year a new batch of officers undergo a "Common Training Programme" (CTP) which includes officers of thirteen occupational groups at the Civil Services Academy.

Appointments of PAS Officers

After completing initial training and probation at the Civil Services Academy, officers are posted in field offices throughout Pakistan on Basic Pay Scale (BPS)-17 grade appointments. Officers of the rank of Captains (within 3 to 6 years' service) and equivalents from defense services are also inducted (in three occupational groups; P.A.S, Police and Foreign Services) on allocated quota after recommendations of Chairman Federal Public Service Commission. This quota was introduced by President General Zia ul Haq through an infamous amendment to the law primarily to have domination of military over civil bureaucracy and is still in vogue. Officers of PAS are first appointed typically as Assistant Commissioners of sub-divisions. They will simultaneously be charged with the responsibilities of Assistant Commissioners of Sub-Divisional level. The Basic Pay Scales (BPS grades) are enumerated (in order of increasing responsibility) such as:

Post-devolution (2001) scenario

Post devolution, local government ordinance PLGO 2001. The Divisional Governments/Administrative Divisions were abolished by the then President Pervaiz Musharraf in 2001 and hence the office of Divisional Commissioner was abolished. The Office of

Deputy Commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police, income tax or administrative official in many countries. The rank is commonplace in police forces of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, usually ranking below the Commissioner. Australia In all Aust ...

was upgraded/up scaled and designated as District Coordination Officer DCO and was deprived of the powers of District Magistrate. However, in 2008, after the presidency of General Musharraf, provincial governments of Pakistan again established the office of Divisional Commissioner. In 2011 and 2017, the term DCO was also re named as

in Sindh and Punjab provinces respectively and District Magistracy continues to be exercised in the

federal capital A federal capital is a political entity, often a municipality or capital (political), capital city, that serves as the Seat of government, seat of the federal government. A federal capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the offices ...

; however, the institution of the office of the Deputy Commissioner has been deprived of its previously held judicial powers elsewhere in the country.

Notable PAS officers

* Ghulam Ishaq Khan *

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Chaudhri Muhammad Ali (15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan from 1955 until his resignation in 1956. His government transitioned Pakistan from a British ...

* Farooq Leghari * Qudrat Ullah Shahab * Shehzad Arbab * Raja Muhammad Abbas * Muhammad Arif Azim * Kamran Rasool * Nargis Sethi *

Shahjehan Syed Karim Shahjehan Syed Karim (1933–2017) was a Pakistani civil servant who served as the Chief Secretary of Sindh, chief secretary of Sindh in 1994. He also founded the Institute of Business Management. Early life and education Syed Karim was born in ...

* Nasir Mahmood Khosa * Tasneem Noorani * Syed Darbar Ali Shah * Shahid Aziz Siddiqi * Maroof Afzal * Rizwan Ahmed * Naveed Kamran Baloch * Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera * Azam Suleman Khan * Kamran Lashari * Mir Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri * Shoaib Mir Memon * Mumtaz Ali Shah * Allah Bakhsh Malik * Iqbal Hussain Durrani * Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad * Syed Abu Ahmad Akif * Jawad Rafique Malik * Tariq Bajwa * Fawad Hasan Fawad * Muhammad Sualeh Ahmad Faruqi * Sikandar Sultan Raja * Fazal Abbas Maken * Agha Jan Akhtar * Masood Khaddarposh * Aftab Ghulam Nabi Kazi * Roedad Khan * Ishrat Hussain * Masood Mufti * Mustafa Zaidi * Aminullah chaudhry * Usman Ali Isani * Rabiya Javeri Agha * Naseer Ahmad * Syed Tanveer Abbas Jafri

References

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