Subjected to inequity: PHC puts religious affairs federal secretary on notice

Man alleges his name was not put on the pilgrims list despite being shortlisted in a draw.

PESHAWAR:

The religious affairs federal secretary was put on notice on Thursday for failing to nominate a government employee for Hajj despite his name having come up in a draw.

Farhad, an ambulance driver working at the Police Lines Peshawar, filed a writ petition with the Peshawar High Court (PHC) stating that the federal government did not nominate him among the Hajj quota despite his selection in a draw.

His counsel told a PHC division bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Shahjahan Akhunzada that the religious affairs federal secretary had asked the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police chief to hold a draw and send them 50 names from his department.

These 50 persons were to go for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The lawyer said that his client’s name was among the list sent to the secretary.

But the federal secretary later cut down the quota to 15.

He asked the provincial police chief to hold another draw.

Farhad was again shortlisted in the new draw, but the secretary did not nominate him, his counsel told the court.

The lawyer that four persons, whose names were not even included in the two draws, had been selected where his client was left behind.

The bench issued a notice to the federal secretary. The bench also issued notice to the provincial police chief, seeking input on whether Farhad’s claim was right.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2012.