District Management Group or DMG, is an elite cadre of the Civil Service of Pakistan.

Officers in this group are recruited through a competitive examination held once a year by the Federal Public Service Commission

Federal Public Service Commission

The Federal Public Service Commission is a Government of Pakistan agency that is responsible appointing civil servants and bureaucrats in Government of Pakistan.- History :...

 of Pakistan. Those selected for this group have to undergo a two-year training programme at the Civil Services Academy (CSA) in Lahore, Pakistan.

The Indian Civil Service (ICS)—also known once as Imperial Civil Service, predecessor of the Civil Service of Pakistan and District Management Group—was established by the British to bolster the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. After Indian independence, the ICS component ceded to Pakistan was renamed the Pakistan Administrative Service. Later it was named the Civil Service of Pakistan. In 1954, an agreement was reached between the Governor General of Pakistan and the governors of the provinces to constitute an All-Pakistan service. Under administrative reforms of 1973, the name of Civil Service of Pakistan was changed to All-Pakistan Unified Group (APUG) of which the DMG and Police Service of Pakistan are now major components.

Appointments of DMG Officers

After completing initial training and probation at the CSA, officers are posted in field offices throughout Pakistan on BPS 17 Grade appointments. Officers of the rank of Captains (within 3 to 6 years service) and equivalents from defense services are also inducted (in three fields DMG, Police and Foreign Services) on allocated quota after recommendations of Chairman FPSC. For this these officers accost loss of seniority in getting one step down, but not the previous service accountable for pay and pension. Officers of DMG are first appointmented typically as Assistant Commissioners of sub-divisions. They will simultaneously be charged with the responsibilities of Assistant Collector (Revenue) and Sub-Divisional Magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

. Subsequently as they progress in their careers, DMG Officers are placed on a variety of field, staff, secretarial and instructional appointments. The BPS grades are enumerated (in order of increasing responsibility) as:

Grade	Appointment	Remarks
BPS-17	Assistant Commissioner Assistant Commissioner Assistant commissioner is a rank used in many police forces across the globe. It is also a rank used in revenue administrations in many countries.-Australia:...  (AC) Assistant Political Agent (APA) Assistant Coordination Officer (ACO) Deputy District Officer (Revenue) Under Secretary in Provincial Secretariat Section Officer in Federal Secretariat Assistant Director of Federal / Provincial Department	Field appointment of AC combines roles of Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Assistant Collector (Land Revenue) In the post Devolution scenario, the AC post has been abolished and replaced with that of DDO(R) in Punjab and Sindh and by ACO in KPK, however, Punjab, KPK, Balochistan has restored the office of AC/SDM. In Many instances DMG officers are posted one step higher as Deputy Secretary and as DO(R) in their Own Pay and Scale.
BPS-18	Deputy Commissioner Deputy Commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police or administrative official in many different countries.-Australia:In all Australian police forces, deputy commissioner is the rank directly below that of commissioner and senior to the rank of assistant commissioner except in the New South Wales Police Force, where...  (DC) / District Magistrate (DM) & Collector (Revenue) for a smaller district Political Agent for a smaller agency (PA) District Coordination Officer (DCO) for a smaller district Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) / Additional District Magistrate (DM) & Additional Collector (Revenue) for a larger district Additional Political Agent for a larger agency Section Officer in Federal Secretariat in higher grade Deputy Secretary in provincial secretariat District Officer (Revenue) or Executive District Officer (Revenue) Deputy Director of a Federal / Provincial Department	Field appointment of DC combines roles of District Magistrate (DM) and Collector (Land Revenue) In some departments, DMG officers are appointed on one step higher appointments like Additional Secretary.(in their own pay and scale).
BPS-19	Additional Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....  of a Larger Administrative Division (Appointment created on required basis). Deputy Commissioner Deputy Commissioner A deputy commissioner is a police or administrative official in many different countries.-Australia:In all Australian police forces, deputy commissioner is the rank directly below that of commissioner and senior to the rank of assistant commissioner except in the New South Wales Police Force, where...  (DC) / District Magistrate (DM) & Collector (Revenue) for a larger district Political Agent (PA) for a larger agency District Coordination Officer (DCO) for a larger district Additional Secretary of a Provincial Department. Deputy Secretary in Federal Secretariat Project Manager for Federal Scheme Director of a Federal / Provincial Department	Sometimes BS 19 officers are appointed as Provincial Secretary i.e. one step higher.
BPS-20	Commissioners of Smaller Administrative Divisions Secretary of Provincial Department Member Provincial Board of Revenue Joint Secretary of Federal Ministry/Division Project Director for Federal Scheme Director General of Federal Department	Commissioners of Divisions were previously under Members of Board of Revenue but now they are directly responsible to the Chief Secretary of respective Province.
BPS-21	Additional Chief Secretary of Province (e.g. ACS Planning) Commissioners of Larger Administrative Divisions (where local government does not exist) Senior Member Provincial Board of Revenue Senior Joint Secretary in Federal Ministry/Division Additional Secretary in Federal Ministry/Division Acting Secretary to the Government of Pakistan Chairman of Federal Organisation. Managing Director of Public Corporation Chief Secretary of AJK / Gilgit-Baltistan.
BPS-22	Secretary of a Federal Division Chief Secretary of a Province Director General of Autonomous Federal Department/Agency Chairman of Autonomous Federal Organisation Managing Director of Autonomous Public Corporation
BPS-SG	Secretary General to the Government of Pakistan in-charge of larger Federal Divisions, in special cases as in Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Finance.

Post Devolution (2001) Scenario

Since 2001, after the passage of Local Governance Ordinance (LGO) 2001 , the nature of appointments taken by DMG officers has undertaken a shift. With the abolition of the institution of Executive Magistracy, the position of DM/SDM no longer exist. A DMG officer now makes a start as Deputy District Officer (Revenue), a new nomenclature for Deputy Collector (Land Revenue). Similarly, the erstwhile Deputy Commissioner

Deputy Commissioner

A deputy commissioner is a police or administrative official in many different countries.-Australia:In all Australian police forces, deputy commissioner is the rank directly below that of commissioner and senior to the rank of assistant commissioner except in the New South Wales Police Force, where...

has been replaced with a DO(R) under Land Revenue Act. AC has been replaced with DDOR, while the powers of Commissioners have been vested with EDOR. DCO the so-called head of district government is not even a revenue officer under Land Revenue Act. He cannot sit as a Revenue court and appeals against decisions of EDOR are heard in Board of revenue. In Punjab, the PML(N)Government has reinstated Commissioners, albeit without significant powers as the Land Revenue and other relevant Acts are amended. However, now DDOR has been abolished and replaced with Assistant Commissioner, but office of Deputy Commissioner hasn't been restored in Punjab. Balochistan government has reinstated the institutions of Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner. In KPK also the office of Commissioner stands restored. It seems that the governments have largely realized the mistake they committed by going for devolution without required preparation.