FATA Secretariat: Service structure policy sought for govt employees

PHC directs K-P governor to form committee for the purpose.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) governor to constitute a committee to form a services structure policy for the regularisation of employees working in the FATA Secretariat within three months.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk and Justice Qaiser Rashid issued the order while hearing a writ petition filed by an employee, Hanif, along with others.

Khalid Mehmood, counsel of the petitioner, informed the bench his client was appointed in December 2004 as an assistant on contract basis. The government had previously announced a policy on August 29, 2008 to regularise all employees on contract.

Mehmood, however, said the petitioner along with other employees was not regularised because he is an employee of the federal government serving in the FATA Secretariat. The employees then approached the PHC in 2010 and filed a writ petition.



Counsel for FATA Secretariat, Imtiaz Ali, informed the bench the employees have wanted regularisation since 2008. He said the federal government decided in March to make a policy to regularise around 1,280 employees on various scales, including project workers, and that they had no objection to do so; but it needed some time.

“The law and order situation in the tribal areas diverts the attention of the youth to adopt illegal ways of earning livelihood. The government needs to secure the jobs of current employees, instead of bringing inexperienced people to the posts,” remarked PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan.

After hearing the arguments, the bench ordered the K-P governor to form a committee consisting of additional chief secretary and other secretaries of the FATA Secretariat with the aim to regularise contract employment within three months.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th,2013.