Commerce and Trade group

Consequent upon the introduction of Administrative Reforms of 1973 aiming to create Civil Services of specialized nature and responsibility, the Trade Service of Pakistan (TSP) was changed into Commerce & Trade Group to administer Export Promotion Bureau, Office of the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports, National Tariff Commission, Trade Marks Registry and Department of Insurance. The posts of Commercial Secretary/Counsellor in Pakistani missions abroad have been kept open to all services, due to the fact that the Office Memorandum under which the Commerce & Trade Group was created did not mention these posts.

Presently 50% posts in foreign missions are encadered in Commerce & Trade Group Departments like Tariff Commission, Office of the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports, Department of Insurance etc. are either working as autonomous bodies or declared as defunct organizations. Export Promotion Bureau has also been decided to be dismembered with the creation of autonomous body dealing with the marketing side. All this has squeezed the group into a smaller entity. As a result, there is no prospect for career planning for the young officers. The people at the helm of affairs may have to find new avenues for providing better career management through encaderment of 100% posts of Commercial Secretary/Counsellor in the foreign missions, encaderment of posts in different departments of the Ministries like Industries and Finance and in Provincial departments dealing with trade and commerce, and through promotional quota in Secretariat Group.