ISLAMABAD, Sept 10: The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench has asked the federal government to submit its comments within 15 days on two petitions filed against appointments in the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) allegedly in violation of rules.

The petitions have been filed against appointments of 24 officers in the bank on contract and a senior registrar at Pims.

Justice Syed Sakhi Hussain Bukhari has also summoned the standing counsel for the federal government, Shamshadullah Cheema, to assist the court on the next hearing.

The petition filed by the NBP Employees Front (CBA) president Syed Jehangir, through his counsel Advocate Abdur Rehman Siddiqui, sought court’s direction to the respondents to refrain from regularising the allegedly illegal appointments of the 24 officers.

He also asked the court to direct the finance ministry, NBP and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to initiate a disciplinary action after an inquiry against delinquent officers of the bank responsible for violating appointment rules. He has also prayed to file references against them before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The 24 officers have also been asked in the petition to justify under what law and authority they were holding their respective positions in the bank.

The petitioner has pleaded that the appointments on contractual terms in senior posts have been made by deviating prescribed procedures, conditions and in derogation of rules laid down by the superior judiciary earlier.

He also quoted a December 31, 2004 report under which SBP had expressed serious reservations against these appointments stating: “To fill in the gap of qualified human resource, the bank had employed more than 60 per cent of all key executives on contract.

“There were pending investigations of misappropriation and fraud against the bank and during a special investigation of SBP regarding compliance of Fit and Proper test in respect of Head of IT Group, it was revealed that the bank’s requirements were not fulfilled in terms of qualification and experience for that post.”

He alleged that the bank also failed to advertise about the vacant post in the press rather filled the posts without competition or determining eligibility and qualification of the candidates.

PIMS: The LHC judge also sought detailed comments of the health ministry and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on a petition filed by a doctor alleging violation of appointment rules in the capital’s premier public hospital.

“Call for report and parawise comments from respondents (the health ministry and Pims), to be submitted within a fortnight,” Justice Syed Sakhi Hussain Bokhari of the LHC said in his one-page order on the petition of Dr Syed Shahid Hussain, who had applied for the seat of Senior Registrar Plastic Surgery (BS-18), against the quota reserved for FATA/Northern Areas.

Dr Hussain has pleaded before the court to declare as illegal the August 30, 2005 notification under which the health ministry appointed Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Khan from Balochistan, as senior registrar in the plastic surgery “in violation of the quota rules.”

Dr Hussain had applied for the seat in response to an advertisement published by Pims for 11 posts of senior registrars in different specialities including plastic surgery.

According to a January 2005 advertisement, one seat was reserved on merit in which the doctors of whole Pakistan could participate, while six seats for the Punjab, one seat each for Sindh Rural and Urban and one seat each for NWFP and FATA/Northern Areas. There was no seat reserved for candidate from Balochistan and Dr Mohammad Ibrahim Khan belongs to FATA.

The petitioner, Dr Hussain, said he was the only candidate for the appointment of senior registrar in plastic surgery from FATA/Northern Areas and deserved the appointment.

But, he said, the ministry of health issued an appointment letter to Dr Ibrahim Khan instead although no seat was offered to Balochistan domicile in the advertisement.

The ministry also issued an appointment letter to Dr Hussain on the same day and appointed him as Medical Officer with six advance increments in Federal Government Services Hospital, Islamabad, where the department of plastic surgery does not exist at all.

The petitioner argued that the appointment made by the health ministry of Dr Khan was an illegal act and without jurisdiction which deserves to be struck down by exercising extra-ordinary jurisdiction conferred on this court under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

His own appointment as an MO in FGSH with six advance increments was frivolous as, the petitioner maintained, he had not even applied for it.

He contended that the appointment made in his favour was “an act of malafide on the part of ministry of health. The ministry intended to overcome the illegal act which it made in favour of Dr Khan,” he said.