CJ recommends extending Justice Jan’s tenure as NIRC head

PBC Vice Chairman Abid Saqi expresses serious reservations over proposed job extension

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad. Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed has recommended job extension of former Supreme Court judge Mian Shakirullah Jan as chairman of the National Industrial Relations (NIRC) for two years.

In this regard the Supreme Court Registrar had written a letter to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development joint secretary on June 20, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune.

The letter read, “[the] chief justice of Pakistan has been pleased to extend the tenure of Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan for a further period of two years as chairman of the National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC), which is an attached department of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis.”

Justice Jan has already been granted two consecutive job extensions. First in September 2016 and the second time in 2018, when former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar had given him two years extension.

Justice Jan also worked as head of the PMDC’s ad hoc body formed by former chief justice Nisar.

However, the apex court had replaced him with former judge Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan in April.

Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Abid Saqi has expressed serious reservations over proposed job extension for the third time to the retired apex court judge.

He stated that the bar was against the norm of offering executive posts to retired apex court judges. “The PBC vice chairman demands the chief justice to reconsider his decision.”

NIRC was established under Section 53 of the Industrial Relations Act 2012. Its functions include adjudication of industrial disputes, registration of trade unions, determination of collective bargaining agents, dealing with unfair labour practices and addressing individual grievances in all four provinces as well as Islamabad Capital Territory.