Recruitment freeze: ECP issues written order rejecting govt plea

Ban to remain in force; poll body says it is empowered to take such steps under Article 218 of the Constitution.

ISLAMABAD:

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) authorities released a written order on Friday, rejecting the federal government’s plea to lift a ban on recruitments in public sector organisations and diversion of funds towards politically motivated projects.

The ministry of law and justice had issued a letter on January 29, asking the Election Commission to review its decision of imposing a ban on fresh recruitments. However, this has been rejected.

Contents of the written order

The written order stated: “ECP [has] resolved that the ban on all kinds of recruitments and diversion of funds, as reproduced above, will continue. It was further resolved that some of the requests for grant of permission to make recruitments in relaxation of ban were genuine and required sympathetic consideration.”

The commission opined that it was empowered to take any such step under Article 218 of the Constitution. The government was of the view that the ECP can exercise such powers only after an announcement of the election schedule.



Elaborating on its order further, the Election Commission said the ban will, however, not apply to constitutional bodies and to posts advertised before August 31, 2012. But the commission made it clear that these appointments should be made strictly on merit.

The institutions established under the Constitution would also be exempted from the ban on recruitments.

Furthermore, any requests from government ministries, divisions and departments, institutions of the federal government or any department or institution of any provincial or local government, including the health and education departments will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the ECP.



Meanwhile, all development projects already in progress may continue without interruption where no diversion of funds is required, the written order added.

Requests from foreign donors to divert funds from one project to another will also be considered by the ECP on a case-by-case basis.

It also said that no funds will be diverted from an ongoing development project to a new or existing project in any constituency.

The ECP on January 22 had notified a ban on all fresh recruitments and diversion of funds from one project to another, after receiving complaints that the federal and provincial governments were doling out jobs in bulk and diverting funds allocated for vital projects to constituencies to lure voters for the general elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 9^th, 2013.