Islamabad: MNN
The federal government has decided to review the existing system for conferring civil awards.
On the Prime Minister’s directives, a committee has been constituted to conduct a comprehensive review of the current mechanism for nomination, scrutiny and selection for civil awards.
Former Secretary Mahmood Khosa has been appointed as Convener of the Civil Awards Review Committee.
The committee will review the legal framework, eligibility criteria, and existing procedures for the nomination and selection of civil awards.
It will identify shortcomings and ambiguities in the existing system and formulate proposals to make the awards process more transparent, objective and merit-based.
The committee will also make recommendations to ensure that the nomination process remains free from political and other undue influence, while promoting national inclusiveness and equality.
The criteria for determining professional excellence, as well as the institutional framework and procedures governing civil awards, will also be reviewed.
The committee will propose measures to make the existing civil awards system less discretionary and more credible.
The committee includes the WAPDA Chairman and the Secretaries of the Cabinet Division, Parliamentary Affairs, Federal Board of Revenue and Commerce.
The Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are also part of the committee.
Sajjad Qazi and Jamal Shah have also been included in the committee.
The Cabinet Division has formally issued a notification regarding the formation of the Civil Awards Review Committee.