Can Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood Clear the Mess in the Foreign Office?
By Hassan Khan
Given that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is known as one of the most capable and experienced members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, it is ironic that the Foreign Office under his watch is in a dismal state of affairs. Consider this.
The ambassadorial postings and transfer plan that should have been announced in November 2018 could not be finalized until May 2019 (partly because the Foreign Minister refused to endorse some of the out-of-merit posting recommendations made by former foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua). As a consequence, 45 ambassadors, 10 Consul Generals, and a much bigger number of other officers in different grades are all awaiting posting decision. This is like 60 percent of all envoys, which is unprecedented.
As a rule, postings are done in a phased-out manner so that the working of the diplomatic missions, as well as the headquarters, is not affected. But now there is a situation where entire diplomatic wings in many embassies abroad are overdue for posting, as is the case with the bulk of officers at the headquarters. This would result in a massive disruption whenever these transfers materialize.
The other issue is that with the end of the financial year approaching, there is no money available for such a mega posting plan to be implemented. That is partly because hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted in prematurely posting some favorites to their preferred diplomatic stations.
In fact, the financial mismanagement in the Foreign Office had led to a situation whereby the embassies abroad could not even be provided funds for hosting national day receptions, what to talk of any funds for public or cultural diplomacy. That too at a time when Pakistan direly needed a more proactive diplomacy.
Meanwhile, as feared by many, the ambassadorial selection made for some of the most important missions abroad in the last posting plan; after totally undermining the usual criteria of seniority, suitability, eligibility for posting, and past performance record; has proved to be a damp squib.
An efficient and effective personnel and financial management is the domain of the administration wing of the Foreign Office, headed by a grade 22 officer, which actually employees almost 40% of the entire workforce at the headquarters. But that had been rendered entirely dysfunctional by the former foreign secretary. Reportedly, the outgoing Special Secretary (Administration) used to frequently complain that all his powers had been taken over by the foreign secretary’s office and he could not even transfer a clerk.
As a consequence of this paralysis of decision making and personnel mismanagement, hundreds of officers and staff members and their families working in the Foreign Office (and their families) are facing great inconvenience and hardship, since their fate has been hanging in the air for the last one year and they don’t know when and where they will be posted abroad. Many had already disposed-off their belongings that they didn’t plan to take abroad, since they are provided furnished accommodation. Others had not extended their children’s school admissions for next year in anticipation for a posting abroad. Many had also exhausted their savings and overdrawn on their credit cards, or borrowed money from relatives and friends.
The darkest aspect of, arguably, the worst administration in the Foreign Office’s history was that a culture of sifarish, sycophancy and clique loyalty had been promoted to a point where it did not matter at all as to what was one’s seniority, or record of performance, or whether one was even due for a posting. What mattered was how close one was to the former foreign secretary and her clique, what sifarish one could muster, and how good one was at the art of flattery. Consequently, a stampede ensued where everyone was scrambling to procure the required sifarish, or curry favor with the clique, to manage posting of their choice -with scant regard to merit, rules and conventions.
Even those close to retirement or employed after retirement desperately sought sifarish for getting or extending their extensions. How bad the situation was could be gauged from the fact the most senior officer of the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP) cadre openly complained on her Facebook page some weeks ago: “They have robbed me of my posting and stabbed me in the back”.
Naturally, this state of affairs had greatly impacted the productivity of the institution as nobody was interested in work anymore, knowing that the stairway to success lay elsewhere.
Given this murky state of affairs, the new Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood – who is known for his work ethics and a fair approach – has a formidable task at hand to clear the mess, and salvage the Foreign Office’s reputation and work culture. Without that the morale of FSP officers will stay rock bottom which could hurt Pakistan’s diplomatic endeavors at this critical juncture.
Mahmood can sure make a good start by laying out a criteria-based posting policy, appointing a capable and fair-minded Special Secretary (Administration), and returning the powers of making recommendations for postings and transfers back to the Administration Wing, which had been usurped by the Foreign Secretary’s Office under the previous command. – Daily Times
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