Islamabad High Court issues notice to foreign secy in ‘biased’ appointments case

Petitioners’ counsel says appointments in embassies are not made on basis of politics

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the foreign secretary against the alleged appointment of officials in the Pakistani missions abroad on the basis of nepotism.

A single bench of the IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the plea.

Petitioners’ counsel Barrister Zafarullah adopted the stance that appointments in embassies all over the world were not made on the basis of politics.

He said that in violation of 2015 policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ officials were appointing people in the Pakistani missions abroad on the basis of bias.

He said that a nine-member committee was constituted in 2015 to frame a policy on the appointments and postings of officials, which was approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the policy, the officials to be based in countries having significant diplomatic ties with Pakistan had to undergo an interview process and their professional skills had to be assessed before their appointments were made there.

The counsel said that in 2020, the policy devised by the nine-member committee was violated.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without informing the interview panel had appointed individuals on the basis of nepotism in the missions of countries of importance.

The judge asked on which posting was the law violated.

The court issued notice to the foreign secretary and sought a reply within two weeks.