ISLAMABAD "¢ The civil bureaucracy in Pakistan is uncomfortable with the creeping in of serving and retired soldiers into their domain "but there is no one amongst the bureaucracy daring to bell the cat," a news report here yesterday said.

"The bureaucracy in general believes it is the responsibility of the Establishment Division (ED) to take a stand on the issue and highlight the violations of civil servants rules and policies in such appointments," The News reported yesterday.

Sources in the Prime Minister Secretariat say the ED summaries containing appointment cases of serving or retired soldiers do not reflect the rules position, saying the Division's bosses are "too vulnerable to resist any such appointment while quoting the rules."

Quoting unnamed sources, the report says the secretaries' committee is in a better position to effectively take up the matter with the prime minister and inform him how the civil bureaucracy is dented by the massive appointments of serving and retired soldiers.

The Estacode "” Pakistan's book of rules, regulations, policies and statutes governing civilian bureaucracy "” does not endorse the massive appointments of the serving and retired soldiers against civilian posts.

However, sources say, the rulers need to be clarified about the kind of violations taking place and their negative impact on the bureaucratic structure.

The validity of ex-servicemen' s appointment against civil posts is questioned because a vast majority of them were appointed during the last several years without consulting the Defence Services Officers' Selection Board.

Most of these appointments were made beyond the clearly prescribed quota that is fixed in the rules for serving and retired defence officers.

While the government claims the competent authority can appoint anybody against civil posts, the rules reserve a quota of only 10 per cent of the total posts in three occupational groups of the civil bureaucracy for young defence officers.

These officers are inducted on regular basis against their share through the Federal Public Services Commission.

The three occupational groups where these officers are inducted through the FPSC include the District Management Group (DMG), the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) and the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP).

Besides this, the Estacode also allows the re-employment of retired defence officers up to the rank of brigadiers against a civil post for a period of not more than five years or till the age of 60, whichever is earlier.

The appointment under this category is allowed in eight specified groups/ministries against 10 per cent quota of the total annual vacancies.

Under the rules it is the DSOSB that is the competent body to consider the re-employment of retired Army officers in the eight groups/ministries against 10 per cent annual vacancies.

The eight groups/ministries specified in the rules include the Office Management Group, Secretariat Group, Foreign Service, Information Group, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Communications and Intelligence Bureau.

While hundreds of ex-servicemen got civil posts since the 1999 military coup, the defence ministry sources confirm that hardly a few were recommended by the DSOSB. Most of the appointments of ex-servicemen were made outside it.