G-B service tribunal stands idle as government fails to appoint judges

Vacant positions remain unfilled for the past three months

GILGIT: It has been three months since the service tribunal of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) has been dysfunctional owing to the retirement of judges.

The three judges including Chairman Justice Hafeezur Rehman, Justice Khurshid Alam and Justice Fida Hussain completed their tenure in January. These judges, however, have yet to be replaced by the government.

“There are no judges, so there is no business in the court,” said a lawyer on Saturday. “All I can say is, the situation has just added to the miseries of the people while the government has turned its eyes shut,” he added.

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"Not only has the public been distressed by the court but public money is also being wasted," the lawyer said. Murad Ali, a resident, said that he needed to file a case of an urgent nature in the tribunal, however, the prevailing situation did not allow for that to happen.

Amjad Hussain, a senior advocate and president of PPP in G-B, told The Express Tribune that not being able to appoint new judges is the failure of the regional government to manage affairs smoothly. He said the appointments should have been made before the retirement of the previous judges.

“This shows the government’s level of interest in public issues,” he added. Citing the inability of the chief minister and governor to address public issues, Hussain called for them to tender their resignations.

"How will they run a government if they can't manage affairs of a lone department," he claimed. Hussain claimed the tribunal's staff had no work to do for the past few months while the government continues to pay their wages and rent for the premises without any utility.

The G-B service tribunal was formed in 2014 under the Empowerment and Self-governance Order 2009, a constitutional package which paved way for G-B to attain provincial status. It consisted of three judges including the chief judge called chairman.