Opposition senators question Pakistan govt on rehiring retired military officers in civil institutions

Opposition senators in Pakistan on Tuesday questioned the government over the militarization of civil institutions and debated over retired military officers holding key positions in the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and other state organisations on Tuesday.

They asked why the government had rehired military officers in civil institutions at a time when the youth of Pakistan are wandering around jobless.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmed previously on December 29 complained and asked the government to provide the number of ex-military men rehired in Nadra. However, instead of providing the number the authority just said that it has 13,997 employees in total, reported Dawn.

"I asked this question because unemployment in Pakistan has surged, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The youth are not getting employment and on the other hand, we are specifically recruiting retired personnel of the armed forces in good positions," the Senator said.

Furthermore, Senator Ahmed said, "Why don't you [admit] that you have hired dozens of retired armed forces personnel and you don't want to take their names in the House?"

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani also rebuked the government for not answering the questions which are raised in the parliament. He said that Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid was "probably the minister in charge of answering this question".

"A strange tradition has been set here that apart from one or two federal ministers no one else comes to the parliament to answer questions. This is a matter of the Senate's honour," he said, reported the newspaper.

The Senator railed against the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan and said, "You have hired dozens and more personnel of the army, air force and navy in very prestigious positions in Nadra. The whole Nadra is in their (armed forces') control and our youth are wandering around jobless.

"Why don't you want to take their names and give their details in the House? What is so difficult about it? Why are you misleading the House," the Senator asked.

Senator Rabbani asked the minister to confirm or deny whether the individuals holding the positions such as Director general of Anti-Narcotics force, Director of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Chairman of Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority were from armed forces or not.

Notably, in terms of unemployment, of 22 million Pakistanis, 15 million are under 30 years of age and being jobless they are unable to contribute to the country's growth.

It can be gauged from the fact that in 2020, the joblessness rate in Pakistan was 4.65 per cent which is 0.67 per cent higher than in 2019, The News International reported.

( With inputs from ANI )

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