Pakistan Customs 6,000 of 23,000 employees retire in 2015-16

Customs to face gigantic task of filling the vacancies, as 10 persons per day on average are retiring during this fiscal year

KARACHI: The Pakistan Custom is going to face an uphill task with a view to continue its working, as the department would face a severe shortage of staff during the current fiscal year 2015-16.

The Pakistan Customs would lose as many as 6,000 out of 23,000 staff members, as they have reached their retirement age of 60 years. On the other hand, the department has not made new appointments to fill the vacancies on which the staff had passed away or retired.

Sources said that if steps were not taken without wasting a single minute, there will be chaos at the Customs Department, and the situation would only provide relaxation to smugglers, causing a heavy loss to the national exchequer.

It may also be mentioned here that promotions have also not been made in grades 1 to 16 since decades, and many have died or retired waiting for their promotions, while many more are likely to follow the suit.

According to available statistics, 10 persons per day is an average of retirement in the Customs Department, while a ban has been imposed on appointments in the department for almost three decades.

Despite the fact that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has delegated the powers of transfers of grade 1 to grade 16 employees, it is ironic that senior officers have kept these powers into the cold storage, while their subordinates continue to suffer.

On one hand, a large number of persons have either retired or are on the verge of retirement, but no step was seen for strengthening the department by filling the gap.

On the other hand, the customs staff members in grade 1 to grade 16 are feeling dejected, and are angry over the bias attitude of the government, which allowed regular promotions to the officers of grade 17 and above, while most of the grade 1 to grade 16 employees are retiring in the same grade in which they were appointed.