ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Customs Board has ordered field formations to strictly follow government guidelines before recommending the suspension of officers and officials, citing a tendency to seek suspensions for minor disciplinary breaches without preliminary inquiries or recorded justification.
In a circular issued by Second Secretary Zakir Hussain, the board said cases were often forwarded recommending suspension “for minor breaches of discipline, in some instances without a preliminary inquiry or recorded justifications.”
The circular reproduces guidelines from the Establishment Division’s ESTACODE (2015 Edition), which state that suspension requires a strong prima facie case against the employee and is justifiable only when the offense is serious enough that dismissal is the probable punishment, or when it is inadvisable for the officer to continue performing duties pending a decision.
Unless there is “some very strong reason” against allowing the employee to keep working until the case is decided, suspension should not be resorted to, the guidelines say.
The instructions bar suspension for petty breaches of discipline and minor departmental offenses. Suspension is permitted only if the employee willfully and obstinately refuses to carry out an order, if retention during an inquiry would hamper or frustrate the investigation, if the employee is in police custody, or if the charge, if proved, would ordinarily result in dismissal.
Heads of field formations were directed to adhere strictly to the guidelines before forwarding any suspension case to the board.
The circular, dated Oct. 26, supersedes the board’s circular of the same number dated Oct. 7, 2026.
