Daily Times

Is whistle-blowing a misdemeanour? Why is it insulting for the Establishment Division of Pakistan if someone blows a whistle and if the whistle-blower happens to be a lady officer, Anita Turab, a grade-19 officer working in the National Counterterrorism Authority, Ministry of Interior? On raising a voice against the acts having the potential of rendering the civil service politicised, overburdened and under-performing, she has been suspended from her post. She will also be subjected to an inquiry to defend her conduct of whistle-blowing.

A whistleblower happens to be an official that makes a disclosure (in the public interest) of something wrong going on within an organisation to those in positions of authority or to the public. On January 3, 2013, Ms Turab wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner and invited his attention towards three points: first, the rationale for recruitment; second, the mode of recruitment (adopted by various ministries of the federal government); and third, the repercussions of both the acts on the civil service, especially when the elections are round the corner.

The questions Ms Turab raised were relevant to the public interest: why did the government ban recruitment during its five-year term and keep it pending till the elections? When the ban was imposed, it was declared that it was due to the austerity drive. The question is what has changed overnight in the earnings of the government, which is making it lift the ban for more than 8,000 jobs, reportedly only in the Ministry of Interior? After the devolution formula enshrined in the 18th Amendment, the central government is left with little financial resources vis-à-vis the provinces; why is then there a need for mass scale recruitment? The next question is this: how can the federal ministries employ people on such a large scale on their own without even seeking the services of the federal or provincial public service commissions? Further, why is there no need of countrywide advertisement (through renowned national dailies) to invite applications from genuine contenders?

The practice of nepotistic recruitment to meet any ruling party’s political objectives (to win elections by enticing the voters of their constituencies) has already rendered the Railways, Steel Mills, PIA, CDA, FIA, IB and several other corporations and departments’ functioning below par. These organisations are laden with employees more than their carrying capacity. Secondly, most of those employees underperform because the terms of merit were violated to overlook their ineligibility. The result is obvious: the government sector is losing credibility and ceding space to the private sector.

There have consequently emerged two types of government servants (employed on grade 17 and above): one, that are employed on merit; and second, that are employed otherwise. The situation on the ground is that the latter category is given leading positions while the former category is sidelined and spends their service tenure mostly as OSDs. The next option left with the former category is to foster affiliations with a political party and be their toadies to secure key postings.

The staff employed on grades 1-16 wreaks another type of havoc. Once employed on the basis of political associations, they strive for achieving their political and financial ends and not administrative objectives. They become a real nuisance as they express their allegiance to their political masters and not to their duties.

It has been observed that the ruling political parties make it an insurance policy to plant ‘insiders’ through the employment episodes. Such political appointees (both officers and staff) watch out for the interests of the political party that facilitated their employment. The practice of watching out for interests may last up to 30 years until they are retired. They leak information and documents; they let influential people evade tax and violate the law with impunity; they do not value merit; they are commonly involved in malpractices including corruption; and they are prone to any sort of pressure to do their political masters’ bidding. Professionalism and efficiency cannot be expected from lateral entrants. These people have ravaged the face of the civil service in Pakistan.

The major problem faced by whistleblowers is retaliation from the employer or from those whose vested interests are harmed. In developed countries, laws are framed not only to legalise whistle-blowing but also to thwart employers and others from penalising the whistle-blowers. This kind of law has two facets: first, to encourage employees to blow a whistle when any wrong happens inside; and second, to discourage the employer and the others from meting out any punishment to the whistle-blowers. The rationale behind such a legislation is that an organisation (whether public or private) claims to work in the public interest. Hence, an act of a whistleblower to point out an area where the organisation is working against the public interest should not fall in the category of a misdemeanour.

In Pakistan, whistle-blowing is a new phenomenon but the country has to come to terms with it. In modern democratic states, whistle-blowers are found and their work is appreciated; they are not condemned, nor are they penalised. In Pakistan, if there exists no law regarding whistle-blowing, it does not mean that the act is unlawful and hence a punishable crime. Pakistan needs to update its civil services law and make room for the provision of whistle-blowing.

Societies that are male-dominated such as Pakistani society consider it a serious affront if a female comes up with an idea how to reform the system, how to introduce transparency in the recruitment process and why should merit be followed. The stance of the lady officer is not just challenging the nepotistic norms of society but also the male chauvinism rampant in the civil service. Anita Turab happens to be the first lady officer who has blown the whistle. She must be appreciated so that more like her surface in the future.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com