Non-implementation of court orders: PAC official given two weeks to reply

Petition was filed by 48 PAC employees who have not yet been given jobs they qualified for.

RAWALPINDI:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) here on Monday issued notices to the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra managing director (MD) calling for a reply to a contempt of court application within two weeks. 

Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Younis of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench sought a response from the MD after 48 people said they had not been given jobs in the PAC Aircraft Manufacturing Factory (AMF) as ordered by the high court.

Citing the MD as a respondent, Saqib Hussain and others through their lawyer Inamur Raheem maintained that on November 10 last year, Justice Muhammad Farrukh Irfan Khan had directed the authorities to induct the petitioners in the AMF as they had already qualified according to the relevant rules and regulations.

In an earlier petition, they had maintained that as employees of PAC, they applied for different jobs advertised by the complex, with written tests and interviews being taken in February last year.



However, the authorities refused to induct them despite the fact they qualified for the posts after fulfilling the demanded criteria.

In response to their petition, PAC authorities had replied that the new administration had decided to hire staff from outside as these 48 men were already working for PAC.

Further, they had maintained that it was the prerogative of the authorities to select or drop any individual, keeping in mind the prevalent law-and-order situation.

Justice Farrukh was not satisfied with the response and directed the authorities to induct the petitioners as they had already qualified.

In their contempt plea, the petitioners said that instead of complying with court orders, in December last year, the authorities constituted a new committee and asked them to appear before it for fresh interviews.

They were warned if they did not turn up for the interviews, they would be ruled out of the appointments process.

The petitioners have urged the high court to direct the authorities to implement the earlier court decision and induct them on the seats they had qualified for.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2013.