Resolution adopted to increase upper age limit for govt posts

G-B Assembly speaker rejects application to end membership of MWM lawmaker

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday to increase the upper age limit for candidates who wish to apply for posts in government departments.

The resolution was tabled by Deputy Speaker Jafarullah Khan. It will benefit more than 900 candidates who will take examinations through the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) in the coming months.

“This relaxation is necessary for the residents of G-B because no inductions [could be made] over the past five years,” Jafarullah said.

The deputy speaker initially pressed the house for a relaxation of up to 10 years. However, G-B Assembly Speaker Fida Muhammad Nashad and other members of the house decided on five years.

“I request the house to support this so deserving candidates may try their luck,” he said.



Over the past five years, inductions could not be made on government department posts for officials of grade-17 and above. This was primarily because FPSC refused to conduct examinations. As per the commission, the region has its own body to deal with these matters, which remains nonfunctional.  As a result, several candidates passed their upper age limit, forcing the government to make amendments in Public Service Commission Act, 2010.

Turned down

During the session, an application presented by Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) sought to end the membership of lawmaker Kacho Imtiaz Haider.

According to the application, Haider violated the party’s discipline in the elections for the G-B Council and was therefore sacked from the party.



Haider was elected on an MWM ticket in the June 2015 elections. However, he voted for Syed Afzal, an independent candidate, instead of an MWM-backed candidate. As a result, MWM suspended his party membership and attempted to de-seat him from the Assembly as well. The party accused the lawmaker of selling out his vote to Afzal. However, the speaker turned down the application, saying it was no acceptable under the law.



“Haider’s resignation was presented to me by MWM, which was not acceptable as per the law,” he said.

Voice of dissent

MWM refused to accept the decision. “The speaker’s decision is illegal and we refuse to accept it,” MWM Spokesperson Ilyas Siddiqi told The Express Tribune. “We will take the matter to court.”  He added, “The decision has come from [Nashad] who is a champion of changing parties.”

He was referring to Nashad’s association with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz over the years.

The speaker’s decision has triggered a debate in G-B over whether a lawmaker who has been sacked by his party can retain his seat in the assembly or not.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2016.