Fair and square: Another petitioner brings up political appointments

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court received on Tuesday yet another petition alleging political appointments - this time in the Sindh Services Hospital catering exclusively to provincial government employees.

Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association, through its president Muhammad Nazeer Abbasi, moved the court, naming the Sindh chief secretary, health secretary, medical superintendant of Services Hospital and civil surgeon of Karachi, and three senior doctors as respondents, alleging that all appointments in the hospital were made on a political basis and in violation of rules and regulations.

The petitioner maintained that a notification from the department said that the vacancies in the hospital are supposed to be filled on merit and the quota. Besides the rural and urban quota at the ratio of 60 to 40 per cent, the urban quota also includes a quota for sons and quota for deceased employees’ sons. But this time no such quota was mentioned in the advertisements or public notices that appeared in newspapers on October 11, 2011.

The petitioner apprehends that this time too, the appointments will be made on a political basis and rules will be violated. He also apprehends the appointment of persons who do not have the qualifications or experience.

The petitioner appealed to the court to direct the respondents to allocate and observe a quota for the sons of deceased employees, not to make appointments on a political basis and to declare any political appointment as unlawful.

After a very brief hearing, the bench put off the proceedings to an unspecified date.

On Monday over a dozen FIA staffers had challenged appointments which they said were made on a political basis in the FIA, Nadra, customs and police.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2012.