SC concerned over regularisation without PSC exam

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court expressed concern over regularisation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Grade-17 employees without Public Service Commission examination.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed on Monday heard the case related to regularisation of employees in KP Police Complaint and Public Safety Commission.

The bench directed the KP government to submit a report on the matter and ordered the Advocate General KP to appear in person on the next date.

The chief justice remarked that blackmailing is going on in the KP province.

He said it is the job of government and not of the court to regularise the employees.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan inquired how the employees could be regularised in Grade-17 without passing Public Service Commission examination.

The counsel for the applicants informed that except for a few employees, all the employees have been regularised in the Commission.

He said the civil judges in the KP are also inducted without passing the Public Service Commission examination.

Justice Ijaz remarked that the judges are not appointed through the Public Service Commission but there is a different examination system for them.

The Additional Advocate General (AAG) KP informed that the employees were promoted in upper grades.

Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi questioned why the scrutiny committee has not been constituted so far. The AAG said the applicants were regularised as they had filed contempt petition against the department.

The chief justice remarked that the employees are not regularised through court decision but in accordance with the law.

The court ordering the KP government to submit a report, adjourned the case for an indefinite period.

Meanwhile, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial sought a progress report from an accountability court, Karachi, regarding the references of two accused of the Sindh Police department.

Ghulam Raza and Abdul Qadir, allegedly involved in irregular appointments, have been behind the bars for the last two years.

The accused counsel contended that the former IG Sindh is already on bail in the instant matter.

Justice Bandial said despite the court direction, there seems to be no progress on the trial of the accused.

He inquired from the Special Prosecutor NAB that why the Accountability Court has so far not decided the references against the accused.

The bench adjourned the case for two weeks.—TERENCE J SIGAMONY