SHC orders prompt provision of jobs to visually-impaired

Again issues notices to parties on delay in release of census results, local govt elections

The Sindh High Court ordered relevant authorities on Friday to immediately provide government jobs to differently-abled and visually impaired persons on the quota reserved for them. 

At the hearing, additional service secretary Umar Farooq told the court that 75 of 81 petitioners seeking jobs on the quota had been issued appointment letters and those of the remaining six were in the process of being issued. 

At this, the court gave relevant authorities a 15-day deadline to award jobs to 102 visually impaired persons, directing officials to consult relevant authorities and the petitioners before finalising jobs and ensure that all candidates were assessed on the basis of merit.

Issuing a notice to Sindh chief secretary in this regard, it issued the hearing till November 24.

Census, local govt poll results

At another hearing, a two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Arshad Hussain Khan again issued notices to the federal government, statistics department of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and other respondents, seeking their replies on a plea pertaining to the delay in the release of 2017 census and local bodies elections results in Sindh. 

At the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel told the court that the term for the last local government in the province ended on August 30, 2020 and the civil administration had collapsed in the absence of local government representatives.

Local government elections cannot be held until the final results of the census are released, he explained.

The counsel moved the court to order the ECP’s statistics department to announce the results of the census immediately, and relevant authorities to hold local government elections on priority basis.