K-P faces dearth of civil judges, qazis

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday sent a formal requisition to the Public Service Commission to fill the vacant posts of 84 civil judges in the district judiciary of K-P.

According to the communication sent by the PHC registrar to the chairman of the Public Service Commission, currently 84 posts of magistrate civil judges and district qazis are vacant, contributing to the increasing work burden on courts.

The high court has asked for these vacancies to be filled soon so that cases can be disposed of timely.

Separately, the PHC has stayed the appointment of the chief executive officer (CEO) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil & Gas Company (KPOGCL) and issued a notice to the company and the provincial government in this regard.

A two-member bench consisting of Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Shakeel Ahmed took up a writ petition for hearing on Monday.

The petitioner, Dr Amir Rajdoon, stated that he had applied for the post of CEO and was selected from among three candidates, and later the committee directed the said company to appoint him, and the company also issued an offer letter.

In this regard, all the legal requirements were fulfilled, the petitioner's lawyer Nauman Muhib Kakakhel said.

The court was told that this company had issued an offer letter to the petitioner regarding the appointment to the said post, but a week later, the offer letter was withdrawn, thus ending the process of his appointment.

The applicant has neither been given any notice nor given an opportunity to offer clarification, so in any case, the offer letter regarding his appointment cannot be withdrawn without assigning any reason.

The petitioner’s lawyer pleaded with the court that now the provincial government and the said company are starting the process of appointing a new CEO, which is not correct.

The court then stopped the process of appointing a new CEO and sought a response from the relevant authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2023.