Government abolishes 2,007 technical posts in motorway police, NA told

ISLAMABAD: The government has abolished 2,007 technical posts in the National Highways and Motorway Police under its rightsizing policy, Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Gul Asghar Khan told the National Assembly on Thursday.

He was responding to a Calling Attention Notice on the discontinuation of the previous service structure for the force's technical staff, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. The change had halted promotions and affected employees' career progression, the notice said.

The posts abolished include those of plumbers, electricians and other technical staff, the Daily Times reported. Gul Asghar Khan said the cabinet had issued directions for the elimination of dying cadres, and the Ministry of Communications abolished the posts in line with those instructions.

He said the ministry had earlier promoted employees working in these cadres. A rightsizing committee set up on the prime minister's instructions then recommended removing dying cadres and outsourcing services wherever possible to reduce the burden on the federal government, he said.

The parliamentary secretary said the decision had been taken by the cabinet and the Establishment Division, and that the ministry could not reverse it on its own. Staff who remain can be promoted under the existing policy once they complete the prescribed service periods, he added.

MNA Neelam asked during the proceedings that the matter be referred back to the government for further consideration, the Daily Times reported. She said the technical staff had served in these cadres for a long time and the issue should be discussed at the cabinet level.

In reply, Gul Asghar Khan said the rightsizing policy applied to all federal ministries and was not limited to the Ministry of Communications or the National Highways and Motorway Police.

The force's technical staff maintain vehicles, equipment and roadside infrastructure along the national highway network and the motorways. The rightsizing exercise is part of a wider federal effort to cut establishments that the government considers obsolete and to contract out services where it can.

Neither the ministry nor the Establishment Division issued a separate statement on the number of posts affected or on what the change means for staff already serving in them.