A controversy has emerged over a recent Capital Development Authority (CDA) appointment after it was revealed that a Grade 18 officer from Punjab was given charge of a Grade 20 position within the organisation, raising serious questions about the legality and fairness of the decision.
The issue came to light when journalist Waseem Abbasi highlighted the appointment on social media, questioning how a Grade 18 officer could be directly placed in a Grade 20 role at the CDA.
In a post on X, Abbasi wrote that a Grade 18 officer had been given charge of a Grade 20 post in the CDA directly, and asked whether such an appointment was even possible under the rules. The post, which included an image of the official notification, quickly went viral, receiving thousands of views and sparking a wider debate about whether civil service rules were being followed.
The official notification that was shared online stated that the Federal Government appointed Mr. Abdullah Khurram Niazi, a BS-18 officer of PMS from the Government of Punjab, currently posted as Director General (Environment) at the CDA on deputation, as Member (Environment) of the CDA under the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control, on an acting charge basis with immediate effect.
Critics argue that giving a Grade 20 position to someone currently serving in Grade 18 skips over the normal seniority and promotion rules that are supposed to govern civil service appointments. They warn that such decisions, if made without a clear legal reason, could hurt the morale of senior officers and raise concerns about favoritism or political influence in key postings.
Many social media users have also questioned how a junior officer can be directly handed a senior role within a major government authority.
