The Pakistan Administrative Service, or PAS ( ur, ) (previously known as the District Management Group or DMG before 1 June 2012) is an elite cadre of the
Civil Services of Pakistan
The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority, and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...
. 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
Grade 22 (also referred to as BPS-Apex) is the highest attainable rank for a Civil Servant in Pakistan. Grade 22 is equal to a 4-star rank of the Pakistan Armed Forces. With over five hundred thousand civil servants and bureaucrats in Pakistan, onl ...
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
The National Highway Authority (NHA; ur, ) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Communications (MoCom) of Pakistan.
History
In 1978, the Government of Pakistan federalised five important inter-provincial roads and named them ''National ...
,
Trading Corporation of Pakistan
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani state-owned commodity trading company, mainly responsible for export and import of commodities. It also issues tenders for export and import of agricultural products. TCP has its of ...
and State Life Insurance Corporation usually belong to the Pakistan Administrative Service.
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
Situated in Lahore, Pakistan, the Civil Services Academy Lahore is an academy for training the young bureaucrats of the country who are commissioned by the Federal public service commission through a very competitive and tough exam known as Cen ...
(CSA) in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
.
Notable PAS officers
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Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...
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Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Chaudhry Muhammad Ali ( Urdu, pa, ; 15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982), best known as Muhammad Ali, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan, appointed on 12 August 1955. His government tran ...
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Farooq Leghari
Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari ( ur, ; 29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He is the first Baloch to have been elected a ...
Raja Muhammad Abbas
Raja Muhammad Abbas (born 20 December 1953) is a retired Pakistani civil servant who served in BPS-22 grade as the Federal Secretary Ministry of Interior, Board of Investment, & Ministry of Housing & Works. Interior Secretary of Pakistan and C ...
Shahjehan Syed Karim
Shahjehan Syed Karim was a Pakistani civil servant and educator who served in BPS-22 grade as the Information Secretary of Pakistan and Chief Secretary Sindh. He is best known as founder of Institute of Business Management
The Institute of ...
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Nasir Mahmood Khosa
Nasir Mahmood Khosa is a retired Pakistani civil servant from Dera Ghazi Khan who belonged to the Pakistan Administrative Service and served in BPS-22 grade, the highest attainable rank for a serving officer. He was promoted to the rank of Fede ...
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Tasneem Noorani
Tasneem Noorani is a retired Pakistani civil servant who has served in BPS-22 grade as the Interior Secretary and Commerce Secretary of Pakistan.
Education
Tasneem attended Pakistan Air Force School Sargodha for high school from 1956 to 1 ...
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Syed Darbar Ali Shah
Syed Darbar Ali Shah (21 July 1923 – 20 June 1996) was a Pakistani civil servant who served as a Central Superior Services officer. He held many important administrative positions, including that of Commissioner Karachi during the 1965 War bet ...
Naveed Kamran Baloch
Naveed Kamran Baloch is a retired Pakistani civil servant who served in BPS-22 grade as the Cabinet Secretary and Finance Secretary of Pakistan. Baloch belonged to the Pakistan Administrative Service and was promoted to the rank of Federal Se ...
Azam Suleman Khan
Maj (r) Azam Suleman Khan ( ur, میجر (ر) اعظم سلیمان خان ) is a retired Pakistani civil servant who serves as the Ombudsman of Punjab. He previously served in BPS-22 grade as the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, Chief Secreta ...
Mumtaz Ali Shah
Mumtaz Ali Shah is a retired Pakistani civil servant who served in BPS-22 grade as the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan and Chief Secretary Sindh. Hailing from Sindh, Shah joined the Pakistan Administrative Service after passing the Central Supe ...
Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad
Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad is a retired Pakistani civil servant who serves as chairman of the Federal Land Commission of Pakistan (with status of a Federal Minister), in office since April 2020. Previously, he served in BPS-22 grade as the Cabi ...
Jawad Rafique Malik
Jawad Rafique Malik (Urdu: جواد رفیق ملک) is a Pakistani civil servant who serves in BPS-22 grade as Industries Secretary of Pakistan. Hailing from Lahore, Malik belongs to the Pakistan Administrative Service and is batchmates with ...
Fawad Hasan Fawad
Fawad Hasan Fawad ( ur, ) (born 14 January 1960) is a retired Pakistani civil servant who served in BPS-22 grade as the Principal Secretary to two Prime Ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Fawad belongs to the Pakistan Adminis ...
Sikandar Sultan Raja
Sikandar Sultan Raja is a retired Pakistani civil servant who serves as the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan, in office since January 2020. He belongs to the Pakistan Administrative Service and is batchmates with Rizwan Ahmed, Hussain Asg ...
Aftab Ghulam Nabi Kazi
Aftab Ghulam Nabi Kazi ( ur, آفتاب غلام نبی قاضی; 6 November 1919 – 9 August 2016) , also known as AGN Kazi, was a Pakistani civil servant and a bureaucrat during the Cold War and during the post cold war. Kazi was born in S ...
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Roedad Khan
Roedad Khan ( Urdu: روئیداد خان; born 28 September 1923) is a Pakistani politician and former civil servant. He was a leading figure in Pakistan from the start to the end of the Cold War. During his long career, Khan was one of the mo ...
Mustafa Zaidi
Mustafa Zaidi (born Syed Mustafa Hasnain Zaidi; 10 October 1930 – 2 October 1970) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and a civil servant.
Early life
In 1954, he passed the competitive examination and was sent to England for training before being g ...
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Mumtaz Mufti
Mumtaz Husain, better known as Mumtaz Mufti ( ur, ; September 11, 1905 – October 27, 1995), was a writer from Pakistan.Aminullah chaudhry
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Usman Ali Isani
Usman Ali Isani is a former senior Pakistani bureaucrat, educationist and a philatelist. He was born in 1934 in his village Bado of Shikarpur District. He is alumnus of Prince of Wales Royal Military College Dheradhoon. Later, after the Indo-Pak ...
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Shafqat Mahmood
Shafqat Mahmood (Punjabi, ; 19 February 1950) is a Pakistani bureaucrat-turned-politician who served as thFederal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training and Federal Minister for National History and Literary Heritage, from 20 ...
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Orya Maqbool Jan
Orya Maqbool Jan () is a Pakistani columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, inc ...
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 rule in the period between 1858 and 1947.
Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...
(ICS)—also known once as Imperial Civil Service in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, 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 Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
. 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
Situated in Lahore, Pakistan, the Civil Services Academy Lahore is an academy for training the young bureaucrats of the country who are commissioned by the Federal public service commission through a very competitive and tough exam known as Cen ...
.
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
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
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 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 Deputy Commissioner in Sindh and Punjab provinces respectively and District Magistracy continues to be exercised in the federal capital; however, the institution of the office of the Deputy Commissioner has been deprived of its previously held judicial powers elsewhere in the country.
See also
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Federal Secretary
The federal secretary (also referred to as the secretary to the Government of Pakistan) is the highest-ranking position in the Government of Pakistan, occupied by the most senior civil servant in a specific ministry or division. The secretary is t ...
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Grade 22
Grade 22 (also referred to as BPS-Apex) is the highest attainable rank for a Civil Servant in Pakistan. Grade 22 is equal to a 4-star rank of the Pakistan Armed Forces. With over five hundred thousand civil servants and bureaucrats in Pakistan, onl ...
Law enforcement in Pakistan
Law enforcement in Pakistan ( ur, ) is one of the three main components of the criminal justice system of Pakistan, alongside the judiciary and the prisons.
The country has a mix of federal, provincial and territorial police forces with both gen ...
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Appointment holder in government organizations of Pakistan
Appointment holder in government organisations of Pakistan refers to all those serving officials, whose services are accredited to the state and Government of Pakistan. Their recruitment and appointment in respective services are carried out as s ...