Around 450 doctors in the provincial health department, allegedly recruited at the behest of influential politicians, have found themselves in a fix after the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday placed a stay on their permanent appointments till November 20.
The appointments were challenged by Dr Ameet Kumar through his counsel Advocate GN Qureshi when these doctors, recruited in BS-17 in April on an ad-hoc basis, were expected to receive their permanent appointment orders on Friday.
The two-member SHC bench, comprising Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Azizur Rehman, stated that no appointment shall be made pursuant to the provincial government's advertisements dated February 13 and April 29, without the due process of the law. The SHC also issued notices to the provincial government, the health department and the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC).
Qureshi alleged that the Sindh government had first announced the posts on February 13 and later recruited around 300 female and 150 male BS-17 doctors on April 24 without holding the SPSC exam.
He claimed that according to the Sindh Civil Servants (Appointments, Promotions and Transfers) Rules 1974, all appointments for BS-17 or above could only be made through the SPSC. "Even in an emergency situation, the government can only make ad-hoc appointments for a period not exceeding six months with the permission of the SPSC," he said.
Qureshi added that the government had not bothered to inform the commission and was now conspiring to offer permanent jobs to the 'politically appointed' doctors. He said that the government should explain on the next date of hearing the nature of the emergency that compelled it to appoint the doctors on an ad-hoc basis instead of following the standard procedures and why it did not take the SPSC in confidence.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2014.
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