Govt confident sacked employees would be reinstated, Senate told

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan on Monday expressed confidence that the sacked employees would be reinstated as a result of the review petition filed by the government with the Supreme Court.  

"By the Grace of Allah Almighty, we will get a good judgment from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Hopefully, these employees will be reinstated with all perks, privileges and salaries," he said while winding up a debate on a motion filed by opposition members.

The motion was moved by Senators Sherry Rehman, Imamuddin Shouqeen, Anwar Lal Deen and Taj Haider to discuss the plight of thousands of employees who had been made redundant through the judgement of the apex court that declared the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act, 2010, illegal and unconstitutional.

The minister said the government would actively pursue the case as it fully supported the removed employees. He informed the house that the government had held meetings with the delegation of the sacked employees and promptly submitted a review petition with the court after getting formal approval from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said all political parties had played a crucial role for an independent judiciary in the country and advised against bashing the courts. He urged the opposition members to avoid using derogatory language against national leadership and the judiciary.    

Leader of the House Dr Waseem Shahzad, for his part, assured that, "We are standing by them [sacked employees] and will extend all possible legal assistance to them”.

He said that it was the PML-N’s government which in 1997 terminated all government appointments made by PPP in 1995 and 1996, adding that a decade later in 2010 the ruling PPP government introduced the SEA and managed to get it passed from both the National Assembly and Senate by the end of 2010.

He clarified that a few employees who claimed seniority and wanted to be promoted accordingly, filed petitions in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in this regard, adding that the incumbent government had nothing to do with it.          

Earlier, Senator Raza Rabbani suggested reinstating the employees through collective legislation by both lower and upper houses of parliament.      

Senator Taj Haider was of the view that the apex court should review its decision on humanitarian, Islamic and economic grounds and urged to give due consideration to the financial miseries of the employees who were removed from their jobs even after spending over a decade to perform their duties.      

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He asked the apex court to constitute a larger bench to review its decision.

Senators Irfan-ul-Haque Siddiqui, Mushtaq Ahmed, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Afnan Ullah Khan also spoke in favour of early reinstatement of the sacked employees.

Amendments, bills of national interests adopted

Additionally, the Senate also unanimously adopted 10 different bills of public and national importance including the amendment in CPEC Authority Act-2021

Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani referred to the relevant standing committees for further debate, whereas the House pended three other bills for discussion and evolving consensus on their different aspects.

The chairman appreciated the lawmakers for ensuring conducive environment in the House and running the legislative business in a smooth manner.

PPP's Sherry Rehman moved the bill to amend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Act-2021, seeking representation of provinces in the authority for better coordination and yielding the required results of the game-changer project.

Senator Saadia Abbasi and Mushahid Hussain Sayed moved the bill to further amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan [The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021, related to national food security.

Senator Shahadat Awan moved the bill to further amend the Code of Criminal Procedures, 1898 [The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2021] (Amendment of Section 195).

Senators Seeme Ezdi and Sana Jamali moved to amend the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010 [The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2021, suggesting to further streamline the existing donation system with involvement of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) through CNIC.

Meanwhile, Senators Saadia Abbasi and Walid Iqbal moved the bill to make provisions for prohibition of corporal punishment against children [the Islamabad Capital Territory Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2021].

(With input from APP)