Strategy, foresight, public sector, governance, future-thinking
Governor Raj
Joined December 2015
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A system that is corrupt to the core... the #RevenueCourt system
thefridaytimes.com/24-Sep-20…
#KPRevenueCourts
#WomenInheritanceIssues
#KPGovernment
@ShahidMohmand79
@nadeemhaque
@durre_nayab_
Awais Khan retweeted
جس گورنر کو اپنے آبائی ضلع کے مسائل اور گورننس پر پالیسی سازی کا اختیار حاصل نہیں، کیونکہ وہاں تمام اختیارات گریڈ 20/21 کے افسر کے پاس ہیں، اسی گورنر کو 25 اضلاع کا چارج سونپ دیا گیا ہے۔ یہ کیسا نظامِ ہے؟
Awais Khan retweeted
ایمرجنسی کے بعد کہا گیا تھا کہ صوبے کو تقسیم نہیں کیا جا رہا، نیا ایڈیشنل چیف سیکریٹری (ACS) چیف سیکریٹری (CS) کو رپورٹ کرے گا، اور ان ہنگامی اضلاع کی انتظامیہ جنوبی پنجاب سیکریٹریٹ کی طرز پر ہوگی۔
تاہم، اب یہ بات سامنے آئی ہے کہ یہ بارہ اضلاع گورنر، گورنر کی مشاورتی کونسل، نئے چیف سیکریٹری اور خیبر پختونخوا انتظامیہ کے دائرہ اختیار میں نہیں آتے۔ اس سے کئی سوالات جنم لیتے ہیں۔ ان 12 اضلاع کے لیے نئے اے سی ایس (جو گریڈ 20 کے ڈی ایم جی افسر ہیں) تنِ تنہا حکومت کے تمام اختیارات کے مالک ہوں گے۔ وہی دراصل حکومت ہیں۔
اس سے کئی سوالات پیدا ہوتے ہیں:
* اگر پی ٹی آئی کے خلاف کارروائی کی بنیاد یہ تھی کہ موجودہ گورنر اور ان کی ٹیم منتخب حکومت کے مقابلے میں صوبہ چلانے کی بہتر صلاحیت رکھتے ہیں، تو پھر ایسا کیسے ممکن ہے کہ گورنر پورا صوبہ چلانے کے تو اہل ہیں، مگر انہیں اپنے آبائی ضلع ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان اور اپنے ہی خطے کے 12 اضلاع کے معاملات سونپنے کے قابل نہیں سمجھا گیا؟
* اسی طرح، اگر 11 رکنی ٹیکنوکریٹ کابینہ اتنی ہی باصلاحیت ہے، تو وہ ہنگامی اضلاع میں اپنے اپنے محکمے کیوں نہیں چلا سکتی؟ اگر ایک گریڈ 20 کا افسر ان سے بہتر ہے، تو پھر باقی خیبر پختونخوا کا انتظام بھی چیف سیکریٹری کے حوالے کیوں نہیں کر دیا جاتا؟ کسی ٹیکنوکریٹ یا سیاست دان کی ضرورت ہی کیوں باقی رہ جاتی ہے؟
* کیا 48 رکنی کونسل کے غیر منتخب ارکان (جن میں سے ایک کا انتقال ہو چکا ہے، 6 مستعفی ہو چکے ہیں، اور ایک جنہوں نے طالبان سے مذاکرات کا مطالبہ کیا ہے اور وہ اتفاق سے کونسل کے وائس چیئرمین بھی ہیں) اپنے اپنے اضلاع سے منتخب شدہ اراکینِ صوبائی اسمبلی (MPAs) کا متبادل بن سکتے ہیں؟ ان میں سے بیشتر وہ لوگ ہیں جنہوں نے انتخاب تو لڑا مگر محض چند سو ووٹ حاصل کر سکے۔ وہ اس علاقے کی نمائندگی کیسے کر سکتے ہیں جس نے انہیں مسترد کر دیا تھا؟
* اگر مقصد صرف ہنگامی اضلاع پر توجہ مرکوز کرنا ہے، تو محض پانچ یا چھ افسران کو 40 محکموں کا چارج کیسے دیا جا سکتا ہے؟
* اگر مقصد حکومت کو عوام کی دہلیز تک لانا ہے، تو یہ انتظامیہ اور اے سی ایس ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان یا بنوں میں بیٹھنے کے بجائے پشاور میں فاٹا سیکریٹریٹ میں کیوں بیٹھیں گے؟ اور وہ پشاور کے بجائے اسلام آباد کو کیوں رپورٹ کریں گے؟
اتنے سارے سوالات... اور کوئی جواب نہیں...
Awais Khan retweeted
I have been advocating for making F-9 Park in Islamabad more vibrant and people-friendly.
It is an amazing green space, with thousands of trees and rich vegetation. It also serves as an important environmental buffer for a city that is rapidly being polluted with more highways and underpasses. We must protect this.
But we also need to improve how people experience and use the park.
The park should be well-lit, with walking paths connecting all sides, allowing people to cross it safely. It should not just be a place for morning and evening walks, but also part of people's daily commute.
We also need wide, pedestrian-friendly footpaths connecting nearby residential sectors to the park. People living in these sectors should be able to walk to the park instead of taking their cars (If they are blessed to live in the nearby sectors).
All of this can be achieved without cutting trees or reducing vegetation.
I also believe that a sustainable model for street food and other small vendors can make the park more vibrant, accessible and safer. Of course, this must come with proper environmental, waste management and food safety protocols. Street vendors are not necessarily a threat to public spaces. When properly managed, they bring activity, social interaction and natural surveillance.
However, there is a much bigger issue: public trust in CDA.
I don't think citizens trust CDA to undertake such interventions without damaging the park's ecology or compromising its public character. This distrust has developed over years of decisions about trees, public spaces and urban design.
Therefore, even if the government has good intentions, it cannot approach the improvement of F-9 Park in an authoritarian, top-down manner.
There must be meaningful public consultations, involvement of urbanists, environmental experts, nearby communities and citizen groups. The process should be transparent, with clear commitments to protecting the park's green cover.
Most importantly, this initiative must be citizen-led, not driven by the Interior Ministry or the Chairman CDA.
F-9 Park belongs to the people of Islamabad. They should have the leading role in deciding its future.
Awais Khan retweeted
پختونخوا میں تجاوزات کے خلاف آپریشن کے نام پر جس طرح غریبوں کے ان ریڑھیوں، چھوٹے سٹالز اور سڑک کنارے لگی روزی روٹی کی جگہوں کو تاراج کیا جا رہا ہے، اس سے یہ سوال پھر ذہن میں ابھرتا ہے کہ عوام کے لیے سیاسی نمائندہ قوتوں کا وجود کیوں ضروری ہے؟
ریاستی بیوروکریسی اور انتظامیہ کا بنیادی فریم ورک آج بھی کالونیل (نوآبادیاتی) اصولوں پر قائم ہے، جہاں عام شہری کو "رعایا" اور خود کو "حاکم" سمجھا جاتا ہے۔ بیوروکریسی کو ووٹ کا خوف نہیں ہوتا، اس لیے ان کی قانون کی بالا دستی کی پرفارمنس بلڈوزر جسٹس کی صورت تباہی پھیرتی ہے
دراصل سیاسی نمائندہ قوتیں ریاستی انتظامیہ اور عوام کے بیچ بفر (Buffer) کا کام کرتی ہیں جو ننگی طاقت کے بے دردی سے استعمال سے روکتی ہیں
اس نقطہ نظر کو سمجھنے کے لیے کراچی کے بلدیہ ٹاؤن (سعید آباد) کے ایک بند کباب ریڑھی والے کا سیاسی ادراک اور معاشی حساب کتاب دیکھنا کافی ہے
ایم کیو سے مائنس الطاف کے بعد جب بلدیاتی انتخابات ہوئے اور وسیم اختر میئر بنے، تو میں نے اس بن کباب کی ریڑھی والے سے پوچھا: "تم نے کسے ووٹ دیا؟"
اس نے جواب دیا: "ایم کیو ایم کو۔"
میں نے مسکرا کر کہا: "کیوں؟
ان کا تو نظام بکھر چکا ہے، الطاف حسین مائنس ہو چکے ہیں، آپس میں لڑائیاں ہیں۔"
اس کا جواب انتہائی سادہ مگر آنکھیں کھول دینے والا تھا: "سرکار ہمارے پاس اور چوائس کیا ہے؟"
اس نے اپنی مثال سے بات واضح کی:
"جب یہاں ایم کیو ایم کا یونٹ پوری طرح متحرک تھا، تو ہر روز یونٹ سے ایک لڑکا آتا تھا اور 20 روپے کی پرچی پکڑاتا تھا
اکثر جان پہچان کا ہوتا، ہم بیس روپے پکڑا کر ایک آدھ گالی بھی نکالتے کہ یہ لے بین چود پکڑ
اس سب کا مہینے کا کل 600 روپیہ بنتا تھا، چھوٹی عید پر فطرانہ، بڑی پر کھال ساتھ تھی
ان سب کے بدلے میں فائدے کیا تھے؟ پولیس تنگ نہیں کرتی تھی، ایکسائز اور بلدیہ والے ٹانگ نہیں اڑاتے تھے، ہم سکون سے سڑک کنارے ریڑھی لگا کر اپنی روزی روٹی کما لیتے تھے، رات دیر سے گھر جاتے تو پولیس کا ڈر نہیں تھا.
اب جب سے وہ سسٹم ختم ہوا ہے، حالات بہت خراب ہیں،
وہ دیکھو، سامنے پولیس کی گاڑی کھڑی ہے؛ یہ روز کے 100 سے 150 لے جاتے ہیں، کبھی کھانے پینے کی صورت میں، تو کبھی کیش، ہفتہ وار بھتے کی صورت میں تھانے الگ 1000 سے 1500 رقم بھجوانی پڑتی ہے۔ اور پھر بھی کچھ ہفتے بعد ریونیو والوں کے ساتھ سرکار کا ٹرک آتا ہے، ریڑھی اٹھا کر لے جاتا ہے، جسے چھڑوانے کے لیے پانچ چھ ہزار الگ بھرنے پڑتے ہیں
مہینے کا حساب لگاؤں تو 8 سے 10 ہزار روپیہ سرکاری محکموں کی نذر ہو جاتا ہے۔ اب آپ بتائیں! دن کے چند سو کمانے والے کے لیے وہ 600 روپے دے کر تحفظ پانا اچھا تھا، یا ایم کیو ایم کے ختم ہونے کے بعد بیوروکریسی اور سرکاری محکموں کے رحم و کرم پر رہ کر 10 ہزار لٹانا اچھا ہے؟"
پشاور میں پاکستان تحریک انصاف کا تیرہ سالہ بندوبست کیا ٹوٹا ہے، سرکاری انتظامیہ کی چاندی ہوگئی ہے، پہلے مرحلے میں انتہائی ظالمانہ آپریشن، پھر شاید سودے بازی ہو اور ریٹ طے ہو جائے.
کالونیل ذہنیت سب کو سوٹ کرتی ہے، بس سیاسی بندوبست کسی حد تک عوامی بارگیننگ کی گنجائش بڑھا دیتی ہے، اسی لیے صاح. لوگ اور بابو صاحبان کو سخت ناپسند ہے
#Pakhtunkhwa #Karachi #Colonialism
#GovernorRaj
Awais Khan retweeted
Mohsin Naqvi had stated after the emergency that the province was not being split and that the new ACS would report to the CS, and that these emergency districts administration would be like the South Punjab Secretariat.
However, it has emerged that these twelve districts now do not come under the domain of the Governor, the Governor's Advisory Council, the new Chief Secretary, and the KP administration. This raises several questions. The new ACS for these 12 districts, a Grade 20 DMG officer, alone will enjoy the entire powers of the government. He is the government.
This raises several questions.
1. If the action against PTI is on the basis that this Governor and his team are better equipped to run the province than the elected government, then how can it be that the governor is good enough to run the province, but not be entrusted with the affairs of his home district, DI Khan and the 12 districts of his region?
2. Similarly, if the 11 member technocrat cabinet is so capable, why can't they run their departments in the emergency districts? If one Grade 20 officer is better than them, then why not give the rest of KP to the Chief Secretary to run? Why have any technocrat or politician at all?
3. Can unelected officials in a 48 member council (one of whom is dead, 6 who have resigned, and another who has called for talks with the Taliban and who happens to be the vice chairman of the council) replace elected MPAs from their district? Many of these people got a few hundred votes and stood for election. How can they represent an area that rejected them?
4. If the idea is to focus on the emergency districts, how can five or six officers be given the charge of 40 departments?
5. If the idea is to bring government closer to the people, why will this administration and the ACS sit in the FATA Sect in Peshawar rather than in DI Khan or Bannu? And why will they report to Islamabad rather than Peshawar?
So many questions... No answers...
Riaz Sb, we are repeating the same model is Peshawar!
Underpasses, overheads such projects are not usually helpful in our context. @navift Bhai has discussed it so many times!
Awais Khan retweeted
Cash Poor, Perk Rich: Pakistan’s Civil Service is expensive, opaque & inefficient
• Colonial leftover: pay is low on paper, but perks (housing, cars, utilities, medical) make senior officers cost more than private-sector or even UN counterparts
• Grade 22 officer: ~Rs 1.05M/month (2021 prices; higher today) when all perks are valued
• Medical reimbursements alone: Rs 2.3B per month — invisible on payslips
• Pensions often reach 140% of final salary and continue across generations
• PAS & Secretariat Group occupy ~70% of top posts; technical experts are sidelined
• 17,471 govt houses in Islamabad sit on land worth Rs 1.45 trillion — prime real estate locked in
• Official cars for senior officers in Islamabad alone: Rs 1.53B annually (plus transport allowance)
• 29 commissions since 1948 tinkered with scales but never fixed perk inequality or performance linkage
What works elsewhere
• Singapore: cash pay + performance bonuses, transparent pensions
• South Korea: cut perks from 100+ types to 26; 35% of pay tied to performance
• Malaysia: reduced bureaucracy 40%, lateral entry, streamlined delivery
Fix
• Monetize housing (PPP high-rises), end free cars (lease or pool), shift to private insurance
• Replace ACR with KPIs + outcome-based bonuses
• Decompress the 24x perk-driven gap to a cleaner 7–10x cash ratio
• Attrition + hiring freeze to cut Grades 1–16 deadwood
Perks create VIP culture, politicize service, and detach officers from reality. Modern governance needs transparent cash pay linked to results.
Full analysis: nadeemulhaque.substack.com/p…
#Pakistan #CivilServiceReform #Governance
I hope there should be a builtin system of drains in these projects! Otherwise, Ring Road would have to be closed on rainy days
ڈی جی پی ڈی اے نے چیف انجینئر پی ڈی اے، ڈائریکٹر روڈز-II، ڈائریکٹر ہارٹیکلچر اور متعلقہ حکام کے ہمراہ جمیل چوک انڈر پاس منصوبے کا دورہ کیا اور جاری تعمیراتی کاموں کی پیش رفت کا جائزہ لیا۔
ڈی جی پی ڈی اے نے متعلقہ حکام کو ہدایت کی کہ کام کی رفتار مزید تیز کرتے ہوئے منصوبے کو مقررہ مدت میں مکمل کیا جائے۔
#PDA #JameelChowkUnderpass #InfrastructureDevelopment #ConstructionProgress #TransformingPeshawar #Peshawar
Awais Khan retweeted
🇺🇸🇲🇽 New York Mayor Mamdani is now speaking directly to immigrants IN SPANISH, telling them how to deal with ICE agents
And he's getting VERY specific.
Don't open your door without a judicial warrant. You have the right to remain silent. Don't sign anything before speaking with a lawyer.
He even explains how to check whether a warrant is actually signed by a judge, rather than simply issued by immigration authorities.
Mamdani also reminds residents that NYPD officers do not participate in routine federal civil immigration enforcement and points them toward the city's free immigration legal hotline.
He's promising to protect the RIGHT TO PROTEST, too.
This goes beyond criticizing Trump's immigration crackdown. Mamdani is personally walking New Yorkers through how to exercise their rights when federal agents show up at their doors.
And he's doing it in the language many of the people he's trying to reach speak at home.
Writer: Oliver
Seems like a war-zone!
High time, to take action against all public agencies whose jobs were to stop such things... so is @fkkundi going to take actions against the former DGs of @pdapeshawar & all #DCsPeshawar ? We look forward to such steps!
اس وقت خیبر پختونخوا میں عام عوام جس اقدام سے سب سے زیادہ خوش ہیں، وہ تجاوزات کے خلاف آپریشن ہے۔ میں جہاں بھی جاتا ہوں، لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ یہ کام کمال کا کر رہے ہو۔ سرکاری زمین اور عوامی راستوں پر قبضے کسی صورت قابلِ قبول نہیں۔ عوام کو کھلی سڑکیں، صاف راستے اور آمدورفت میں آسانی دینا حکومت کی ذمہ داری ہے۔ اب سوال بھی پوچھا جائے گا اور جواب بھی مانگا جائے گا، راستے بھی کھلیں گے اور قانون کی حکمرانی بھی ہوگی۔
Shehbaz Sharif government and the establishment have used every trick in their playbook, yet they still can’t erase @ImranKhanPTI or @PTIofficial from the hearts of the Pakistani people. They need to realize that enough is enough!
#GovernorRule not acceptable to the ppl of KP!
Awais Khan retweeted
Hard for me to speak of the specific details of the last two govts I was not a part of, but the hypocrisy of Shahbaz Sharif on KP is worth exposing.
All of Shahbaz Sharifs facts on KP are wrong. He deliberately lies. Forget the 160 bln, here is how the federal govt short-changes KP in several ways.
1. The federal govt has not updated the NFC since the merger of FATA, despite passing two constitutional amendments. This means that the current budget for FATA has a deficit which was covered by KP. This year that annual deficit will be Rs 50 billion. And now that the province has effectively been split in two, the federal govt will need to cover that bill, or take money from the truncated KP province and give it to the new FATA plus province. Not a rupee has been pledged. Arrears amount to another 80-100 bln. And pledged development funds that are not released amount to another 80-100 bln.
2. Even if we forget NHP dues under the AGN Qazi formula, the NHP arrears under the MoU agreed with the federal govt in 2015-16 amount to 70-80 bln that remain pending.
3. The NFC share for the erstwhile KP, even excluding ex FATA, is deficient. KP's population share is based on the 1998 census. This should have been changed in 2008. If just this number were updated, it would mean that KP gets more than the 1% of additional NFC that Shahbaz Sharif continues to push down everyones throats. KP's NFC share is about Rs 100 bln more than it is allotted, even excluding ex-FATA. On top of this, the Gandapur and Afridi govts have been leaving surpluses to help the federal govt every year; last years was Rs 160 bln. And I believe that this year the federal govt has also deducted at source from the NFC share as part of Rs 1300 bln it is taking back from KP.
4. KP's spending on security is way more than the 1% NFC share given to KP, which was never earmarked for security in the first place. So this claim of 800 bln being given to KP and disappearing is also wrong. I will deal with this in a separate tweet also.
5. I have not accounted for a number of other issues; KPs case on windfall levy; sales tax on petroleum; preferential access to gas; full NHP dues in line with the AGN Qazi formula; and the commitments to FATA at the time of the merger. This is the money that would run into trillions. I typically don't tend to focus on these because the figures are astronomical.
Finally, hard to think that a PM who still hasn't paid Rs 10 bln he publicly committed as part of flood relief in 2022 will find Rs 160 bln to pay KP now.
Please enlighten us @Jhagra about the dues that Federal Govt was supposed to pay to KP - were they paid after KP govt repeatedly asked for it?
Awais Khan retweeted
Is this 160 bln (Arab 🤫) from within KP's NFC share, or not?
Is it for the governor rule districts, or the emergency districts?
In what time frame is it?
Is the federal govt now bridging the Rs 50 bln deficit in the ex FATA budget?
Is the federal govt update KP's NFC share with it's census population?
Is it creating a permanent NFC share for ex FATA?
Is it going to pay any NHP arrears?
Is Shahbaz Sharif ever going to pay the Rs 10 bln he promised for the 2022 floods?
If you leave a 220 bln surplus, and then give a 160 bln package over 3-4 years, what does the math look like?
Has the federal govt been deducting money from KP's NFC share at source beyond the surplus already in place?
So many questions...
I love #bureaucracy in Pakistan because they are very agile and adaptive. They quickly adapt according to any "change" in environment!!!
Lols
Came to Peshawar after a few days in village and didn't see 'any change' as claimed by #GovernorRule...
Awais Khan retweeted
Cities around the world promote sidewalk cafes. And there is a reason for that. These are not just places to eat or drink coffee. They are places where people meet, sit, talk, and socialize. They bring life to streets and make cities more interesting.
And sidewalk cafes do not mean only expensive restaurants with fancy outdoor seating. They also include affordable food carts, food trucks, small tea stalls, and street food vendors. Cities encourage these activities because they create jobs, support small businesses, attract tourists, and provide social spaces for citizens.
Unfortunately, there is a serious lack of understanding of these concepts among many politicians and bureaucrats in Pakistan.
For years, I have been advocating during training programs and discussions with public officials that our cities need to create more public and social spaces, not fewer.
In fact, one of the most important KPIs for any city administrator should be how many new public spaces they created. How many additional square feet of space were made available for people to walk, sit, eat, and socialize? How many new opportunities were created for small businesses?
But look at how authorities such as CDA approach these matters. The measure of performance often seems to be how many places were cleared, how many stalls were removed, and how many structures were demolished. Almost everything is seen through the lens of encroachment.
Of course, public spaces need regulation. Footpaths must remain accessible. But cities around the world have systems to license vendors, allocate spaces, charge fees, and enforce rules. This is not some impossible administrative challenge.
And whenever you discuss this with officials, the typical response is that people misuse public spaces and do not follow rules. This reflects a deeply colonial approach to governance. The assumption is that people cannot be trusted, so the easiest solution is to prohibit or remove everything.
The job of city administration should be to manage public spaces, not simply eliminate activities from them.
Unfortunately, I do not expect much to change in Islamabad or many other Pakistani cities anytime soon.
And this is not limited to sidewalk cafes. The same lack of understanding is visible in how we approach walkability, public transport, pedestrian streets, and urban public spaces.
We need to fundamentally change how we measure the performance of our city administrators.
A city should be judged by how much space it creates for people, not how much space it takes away from them.
