Tour troubles: Court puts stay order on reduction of tour operators’ quota

Petitioners claim the government’s decision has panicked pilgrims.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday put a stay on the federal government’s orders of barring around 38,000 pilgrims from performing Hajj within the quota allowed for private tour operators.

Through two different notifications issued on June 27 and June 28, the federal government reduced the quota for private tour operators from 50% to 40%, despite the fact that pilgrims have already paid for their services.



During the hearing on Monday, a PHC bench comprising Justice Irshad Qaisar and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain was told by the counsels for Minhaj and other tour operators that they had already received payments from pilgrims and paid the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrims’ stay, food, air tickets and other expenses.

The petitioners contended the federal government’s sudden announcement had panicked people since the money spent was non-refundable. They requested the court to put a stay on the government’s orders. The bench then ordered a stay on the government’s notification letters and asked it to submit a reply to the court.

In a separate case, Civil Judge Saima Irfan issued stay orders against the forced retirement of three teachers of Fizaia Inter College Shaheen Camp, Peshawar.

The petitioners, Muhammad Sabir, Tahira Mushtaq and Farzana Mushtaq claimed they had been teaching for the last 25 years, but on June 28 the institute’s principal summoned them and retired them forcibly without following proper procedures. They appealed to the court to put a stay order on the principal’s orders.

Civil Judge Saima Irfan later complied and directed the chairperson of the managing committee of Fizaia Inter College to submit a reply.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2013.