PHOTO: FILE.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday granted two weeks to government to submit its reply to petitions challenging promotions from BPS-20 to BPS-21.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui allowed the government to notify the promotions but linked them with the final order of the court. “The official respondent may issue notification of promotion of private respondents but same shall be subject to final adjudication of writ petition and its outcome,” the court ordered.
After hearing counsel for petitioner as well as respondents, including private respondents, the court was convinced on Thursday that the order passed on May 5, 2015, needed to be modified, stated the order.
As the hearing started, the state counsel requested for more time to submit reply as he was yet to receive a reply from the government. The court accepted the request and adjourned the case till June 10.
On previous hearing, the IHC had granted stay over promotions in Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) from BS-20 to BS-21 recommended by the Central Selection Board (CSB) after different petitioners moved court against the CSB decision.
The court had ordered stay over promotions while hearing the petition of the former Islamabad IGP Aftab Ahmed Cheema, Frontier Constabulary (FC) Deputy Commandant Ghaniur Rehman Wazir, Asif Samad — a director in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) — and others.
The petitioners have listed establishment secretary, CSB chairman, Federal Public Service Commission chairman and several police officials as respondents.
Cheema was suspended for disobeying government orders to use force against violent protesters during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) sit-in last year. Disciplinary proceedings are still pending against him.
The suspended IGP through his counsel Hafiz SA Rehman has challenged the CSB recommendation for promoting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Additional IGP Tariq Javed to grade 21.
Cheema maintained that promotions in CSB were made on whims and wishes and also on pick and choose policy rather than on merit. He added that even the pendency of disciplinary proceedings against him did not debar the CSB to consider him for promotion.
Through his counsel Barrister Masroor Shah, Wazir has challenged his supersession in promotion to BPS 21 as well as the legality of the federal government’s promotion policy.
Shah argued that the petitioner, who had unblemished service record and who personally led several successful operations against terrorists, has been ignored for promotion whereas junior police officials involved in mega corruption arms purchase case in accountability court, some of whom even entered into voluntary return (VR) with NAB, have been promoted.
Shah contended that vesting of 15 marks to CSB amounts to veto power under which the members of the board can simply brush aside entire service record and ACRs of an officer and recommend his supersession.
The ISI director has also alleged that he was on top of the list but was not given promotion.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2015.
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