The jurisdiction of the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister or Chief Adviser has increased. Necessary amendments have been made in the Rules of Business 1996 in this regard by the power of the President. New clauses have been added to the Rules of Business to increase the scope of work of Special Assistants. This amendment to the Rules of Business, signed by Cabinet Secretary Abdur Rashid, was published in the Gazette on Thursday (October 24).
In this case 2 'A' has been added after Clause 2 of Rule Three 'B'. It says, 'The Prime Minister may assign a special assistant to perform the functions of various matters or matters. A Special Assistant shall perform or dispose of such executive functions and special functions as may be assigned to him from time to time by the Prime Minister.'
According to the previous rules of the Rules of Business, the Prime Minister can appoint advisers and special assistants in the public interest. As per previous terms of reference, the Prime Minister may assign the responsibility of providing support services and assistance to advisers and special assistants. They will complete the work assigned by the Prime Minister.
The Cabinet Division has informed that a minor amendment has been made in a section of the Rules of Business. This amendment is to create an opportunity for the Prime Minister or the Chief Adviser to empower any one of the 'Special Assistants' (Gane) to undertake executive action on a specific matter of a Ministry or Department. At the moment there is no decision to grant such power to any specific office bearer.
By the way, the chief advisor of the current interim government. Muhammad Yunus has appointed two special assistants so far. They are Lieutenant General (retd) Abdul Hafeez and Mahfuz Alam.
