Pakistan has barred people of Indian or Israeli origin from local jobs at its overseas trade and investment missions under a new Commerce Ministry recruitment policy. The rules tighten eligibility, make security screening compulsory, and set a fixed selection path for Trade and Investment Officers (TIOs)—the officials who run those missions abroad.
The ministry has told all TIOs that candidates of Indian or Israeli origin are ineligible in every case. Security checks will cover both the applicant and their spouse. Before any recruitment begins, the TIO must secure prior approval from the ministry.
Who can still be hired
Guidelines circulated to missions instruct officers to favour citizens of the host country for local posts. People of Pakistani origin who hold valid work permits may also be considered. Posts may only be filled where the ministry has already approved the position. Pay and benefits are to follow scales set by the Diplomatic Wing, the unit that handles diplomatic service terms; only in exceptional cases may pay be set after a market survey with clear written justification.
Applicants need a graduate degree from a recognised university. Those with trade-related experience are to get preference. After ministry approval, the TIO forms a selection committee. Candidates sit written tests and interviews, and the committee then sends a shortlist of three names to the Ministry of Commerce for a final decision.
Contracts, reviews and the three-year limit
The first contract lasts one year and includes a 90-day probation period. If performance is satisfactory, it may be renewed each year, but total service in the post is capped at three years. Staff face quarterly performance reviews. Any request to extend a contract must reach the ministry at least three months before the current term ends. When someone finishes the maximum three years, the job must be opened again through a fresh recruitment round.
Accountability for unapproved hiring
The ministry will not grant retrospective approval for recruitment or extensions. Appointments or renewals made without prior clearance—and salaries paid outside the rules—will be classed as irregular expenditure. The TIO will be personally answerable for audit objections linked to irregular hiring or extensions, and for disputes or court cases involving locally hired staff. The ministry says it will not take on administrative or financial responsibility in those cases. The new guidelines replace all earlier instructions on hiring and managing local employees at Pakistan’s trade and investment missions abroad.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan ne bahir ke trade missions par Indian ya Israeli asal wale logon ki local nokri band kar di hai. Ab hiring se pehle ministry ki ijazat aur security check zaroori hain. Host country ke citizens ko pehli priority milegi, aur Pakistani asal wale valid work permit ke sath consider ho sakte hain. Local staff ki nokri zyada se zyada teen saal tak ho sakti hai; us ke baad nayi hiring hogi.
