PHC strikes down PESCO hiring reversal

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has declared null and void the federal government's decision to cancel the completed recruitment process for 4,000 posts in PESCO and re-advertise the vacancies.

The verdict was issued by a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Faheem Wali.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners, Advocate Khalid Rahman, informed the court that the Ministry of Energy and Power had advertised 4,000 positions in PESCO in 2022 and tasked the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) with conducting the recruitment test. Around 700,000 candidates from across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa applied, each paying a fee of Rs500, generating over Rs370 million in test charges.

He added that UET's testing services cost more than Rs120 million, which the concerned department had yet to pay, prompting the university to also approach the court. Despite PESCO writing multiple reminders to the federal government, the dues remained unsettled.

Rahman argued that although the ministry allowed recruitment for Grade-17 posts, it unlawfully halted the process for other positions after tests had been completed and merit lists prepared. Three years later, in 2025, the federal government initiated a new recruitment cycle and re-advertised the same posts, assigning the testing responsibility to NTS, a move the counsel termed unconstitutional and exploitative, as candidates were being charged again without justification.

The bench observed that once a recruitment process is completed, there is no legal basis for restarting it or subjecting applicants, mostly from low-income backgrounds, to additional financial burdens. The court therefore ruled that the cancellation of the earlier process and re-advertisement of the posts was without lawful authority and must be set aside.

SC overturns verdict

Separately, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has overturned the life sentence of a man convicted of killing a six-year-old girl, ordering his immediate release. A three-member bench comprising Justice Irfan Saadat, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Malik Shahzad announced the decision after hearing the appeal. According to the prosecution, Tahir Badshah, a resident of Lund Khwar, Mardan, was accused of abducting and murdering six-year-old Shabnoor, daughter of Latif Khan, on 18 August 2016.