AJK government appoints Public Service Commission members amid questions over timing

The outgoing Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has appointed seven members to the region's Public Service Commission (PSC), the primary body for recruitment, just days before its departure from power. This action has ignited controversy, with critics questioning the appropriateness and timing of these significant institutional appointments.

The appointments, detailed in a notification from the Services and General Administration Department, were made under the AJK Interim Constitution and the Public Service Commission Act. The newly appointed members include former secretaries, an educationist, a woman representative, and a medical specialist, drawn from various quotas as stipulated by the Act. These members are set to serve a three-year term.

Shahid Mehmood Wani, a senior leader of the PML-N party, strongly objected to the appointments. He argued that while the individuals' credentials might not be in question, a government in a transitional phase, having lost the popular mandate, should defer such consequential, long-term decisions to the incoming elected administration. Wani emphasized that such appointments should ideally be made through a transparent process.

The AJK Public Service Commission has a history of facing criticism regarding delays in its formation and accusations that its members are selected based on political favoritism rather than a transparent selection mechanism. Notably, the commission operated without a full complement of members for eight months after the previous chairman and members' terms expired in May 2023, highlighting ongoing issues with the body's composition and functioning.

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Without questioning the competence or credentials of the individuals appointed, the propriety of making such appointments at this stage is certainly open to question. A government continuing in office as a transitional arrangement after the expiry of the assembly’s term, and having lost the people’s mandate, should ordinarily leave decisions of such long-term institutional consequence to the incoming elected government.