THATTA, May 5: A large number of Mukhtiarkars (revenue officials) in lower Sindh have been deprived of promotions on the pretext of inquiries they are facing, according to some affected officials.

They said that several Sindh High Court decisions could be cited, which said that an inquiry against an officer who required to be promoted could not be considered as an obstruction to his promotion or a stain on the career.

But despite such orders, they said, the authorities concerned often violated rules and regulations by awarding promotions to ineligible or junior officials.

A group of affected Mukhtiarkars told Dawn that a number of their colleagues — who had passed RQE (Revenue Qualifying Departmental Examination), mandatory for promotions, in 1993-94 — had been denied promotions and most of the juniors who passed the examination in 2000-01 had been promoted to BPS-17.