Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS)

Pakistan Administrative Service

Formerly known as the District Management Group (DMG), this group primarily deals with district administration, governance, and policymaking at the provincial and federal levels.

Governing Body

Prime Minister of Pakistan

History

It is the successor of the illustrious Imperial Civil Service (ICS) during the British Period.
After partition of the subcontinent in 1947, all ICS officers who opted for India became the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and those who opted for Pakistan became the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS).
The PAS was renamed as Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1951.
It was divided into two groups District Management Group (DMG) and Tribal Areas Group (TAG) in 1973.
It was then reunited as DMG in 1981.
Finally, it was reverted to its original name “Pakistan Administrative Service” in 2011.

Introduction

Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) is the general administrative cadre of the Government of Pakistan.
It was formerly called as the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP).
From District Administration to the highest levels of policymaking in the Federal Government, Pakistan Administrative Service play the most pivotal part in running the entire country.
It is the most prestigious Service within Pakistan’s bureaucracy and of the nearly three million public servants are working in it and only around 1000 or so are Officers.

Training

Each year, a fresh batch of around 40 PAS officers is inducted through Central Superior Services (CSS) examination out of 40,000 candidates.
97% of aspirants select the PAS as their 1st preference out of 12 occupational groups.
PAS probationer officers are further subjected to a two-year schedule of intense training.
Common Training Program (CTP) is held at the Civil Services Academy, Walton Campus, Lahore
Specialized Training Program is held at PAS Campus located alongside Shahrah-E-Quaid-I-Azam in Lahore
STP includes the study of public administration, civil law, criminal law, urban planning and rural development.
There are also mandatory physical courses like horse-riding, swimming, rifle- shooting and various kinds of sports and extracurricular activities.

Posts

The PAS Officers are entitled to hold 100% positions of Chief Secretary in Pakistan as well as 65% of the posts of Additional Secretary, 35% of the posts of Joint Secretary in the Federal Ministries. In the provincial governments, they are entitled to 65% posts of provincial Secretaries, two-thirds of the posts of Divisional Commissioners, half of the posts of Deputy Commissioners and one-fifth of the posts of Assistant Commissioners. The PAS officers also hold judicial portfolios (four of them became the Chief Justices of Pakistan), foreign assignments including Ambassadors and Counselors, and heads of Public Sector Corporations. Many of the CSPs have risen to the level of the President of Pakistan.

BPS-17:

Officers of PAS are first appointed typically as

Assistant Commissioners (AC) of a Sub-division/ Tehsil.
Assistant Director in any Federal or Provincial Department like WASA, WAPDA, Irrigation, PIA etc.
Section Officer in Federal Secretariat
Under Secretary to Provincial Government
Assistant Political Agent (APA)

Field appointment of AC combines roles of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Assistant Collector (Land Revenue)

BPS-18:

PAS Officers are promoted from BPS-17 to BPS-18 with 4 to 5 years. They may be appointed as

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of a small District
Deputy Director of a Federal/Provincial Department like PIA, Railways, PTV etc.
Senior Section Officer in Federal Secretariat
Deputy Secretary to Provincial Government
Political Agent for a small agency

Field appointment of DC combines roles of District Magistrate (DM) and Collector (Land Revenue) well

BPS-19:

Promotion time from BPS-18 to BPS-19 is approximately 7-8 years. They may be appointed as

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of a Large District
Director/Vice-Chairman of a Federal/Provincial Department like PIA, Railways, PTV etc.
Deputy Secretary to the Government of Pakistan
Additional Secretary to Provincial Government
Political Agent in Government large agencies in Gilgit, FATA, Kashmir etc.
Project Manager for a Federal Scheme

BPS-20:

They may be appointed as

Commissioner of a small Administrative Division
Director-General of Federal Department
Joint Secretary to the Government of Pakistan
Secretary to Provincial Government
Member Provincial Board of Revenue
Project Director for Federal Scheme

BPS-21:

They may be appointed as

Commissioner of a Large Administrative Division like Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Islamabad etc.
Chairman of Federal Organizations
Chairman Provincial Planning and Development Board
Chief Executive / Managing Director of Public Corporation
Chief Secretary to AJK / Gilgit-Baltistan Government.
Acting Secretary to the Government of Pakistan

BPS-22:

It is the Highest attainable and most prestigious designation. PAS Officers in BPS-22 may be appointed as