Punjab government is yet to appoint a Director-General of the Punjab Emergency Service (PES) (popularly known as Rescue 1122) Academy, a post that was vacated two years ago after Amir Hamza’s contract as DG expired in January 2017.
Last November, Chief Minister Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar, presided over a meeting of Punjab Emergency Council, the body that oversees PES and PES Academy, in which he directed the department’s administration to appoint a DG for the PES Academy.
Director-General PES, Dr. Rizwan Naseer’s contract expired in October last year. During the meeting, CM Buzdar also approved to grant a one-year extension to Dr. Rizwan. However, the provincial government, after a delay of two months, issued the official extension notification on January 6 this year.
According to the Punjab Emergency Service Act 2006, the post of Director General PES is a tenure-based post and shall be filled initially for a period of three years.
Rescue 1122 was started as a pilot project in 2004 and became fully operational in 2006 after the Punjab Emergency Service Act was signed into law. Dr. Rizwan Naseer was appointed as the DG of the PES that year.
Since then, Dr. Rizwan Naseer has led PES except for 2015 when his services were handed over to the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. In his absence, Arshad Zia was appointed as the acting DG PES. In 2016, Dr. Rizwan Naseer returned to take charge.
Via: Express Tribune
