Selection of trade officers for foreign countries: CSS officers decide to approach Supreme Court against MoC

The CSS officers of Commerce and Trade Group have decided to go to the Supreme Court against the consistent injustice being done to them by the Ministry of Commerce while making selection of trade officers for abroad, well informed sources told Business Recorder.
The officers have objected to the recent appointments of trade officers made by the Government of Pakistan at Santiago (Chile), Brussels (Belgium) and Prague (Czech Republic) to accommodate siblings of influential people under the cover of offering representation to private sector representatives.
It has been reliably learnt that about seventy CSS qualified officers of Commerce and Trade Group had earlier made a representation to the Secretary Commerce against the unlawful postings of bigwigs in October 2009. However, no action was taken by the Ministry of Commerce which prompted the officers to seek justice from the Supreme Court.
According to sources, a special mechanism was developed by the Ministry of Commerce to select Ayesha Saeed daughter of Senator Gulshan Saeed, member of Standing Committee of Senate on Commerce, Shahryar Talpur son of Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur, MNA and member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Commerce and Nadia Rehman, daughter of Khalid Rehman, Manager Duty Free Shops for posting as trade officers at Santiago, Brussels and Prague respectively.
The selection was made through a test conducted by Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development (PITAD), an attached department of Commerce Ministry, instead of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
In order to enable these resourceful individuals, the officers of Commerce and Trade Group were barred from appearing in the said test and selection criteria to qualify for interview was lowered to 50 percent marks, which was originally fixed at 60 percent for Commerce and Trade Group officers who appeared in the written test conducted by LUMS.
Commerce and Trade Group is a specialised occupational service of the Government of Pakistan. The officers of this occupational group are inducted through CSS exams and after undergoing a Common Training Programme at the Civil Services Academy, are imparted specialised training in subjects related with trade and Commerce. After completion of their training, these officers serve in the Ministry of Commerce and its attached departments.
It is worth mentioning that although the said service group was created with the objective to further Pakistan's commercial interests in the country and abroad, 50 percent seats of trade officers abroad were encadred to its officers, yet only 14 out of 62 trade offices abroad are occupied by the officers of Commerce and Trade Group, which is less than 25 percent.
The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Commerce, during its meeting held on 22nd January, 2009 has already taken notice of the discriminatory treatment being accorded to the officers of Commerce and Trade Group and has sought clarification from the Ministry of Commerce on the unlawful appointments made by the Ministry.