PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and its secretary seeking their response to a petition against the recent assembly appointments in the alleged violation of the principle of merit.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Shakeel Ahmad fixed May 10 for next hearing into the joint petition of candidates Irfanullah and Akhlaq Ahmad, who requested the court to declare the appointment of other candidates illegal and “based on favouritism and nepotism.”

The petitioners sought the court’s orders for the assembly’s secretary to scrap the entire recruitment exercise before starting it afresh in line with the principle of merit by considering them and other candidates with high marks in the test.

They requested the court to direct the National Accountability Bureau director-general for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federal Investigation Agency director for Peshawar to constitute a joint team of senior members of their organisations to hold an inquiry against the PA speaker and secretary and the director of the Allied Testing Service that conducted the test, and take action as per the law.

Candidates allege ‘merit’ violation in recent PA appointments

Lawyer Bashir Khan Wazir appeared for the petitioners and said the PA secretary had advertised various assembly posts inviting applications from eligible candidates.

He said petitioner Irfanullah applied for the posts of the assistant secretary and staff officer to the speaker and Akhlaq Ahmad for the offices of the assistant coordinator and protocol officer and research assistant.

The counsel said the testing agency examined documents of the petitioners and issued roll numbers to them before they were called for a written skills test.

He said his clients obtained high marks in the test. He added that the petitioner No. 1 secured 66 and 71 marks for the post of the assistant secretary and staff officer, respectively, whereas the second petitioner also received good marks.

Mr Wazir, however, said the testing agency had not displayed a cumulative merit list and showed test results individually.

He said the petitioners were also called for interviews.

The counsel said after conducting the interviews, the secretary was bound to proceed under the relevant rules and had to display “merit list” of the successful candidates and convey it to the candidates, but despite the lapse of a considerable time, no such information was provided to the petitioners and other candidates.

He said after a few days, the media reported a “large-scale favouritism” in the recruitment, while a candidate formally complained to the FIA about it and provided it with a list of appointees along with their relationship with lawmakers and PA officials.

Mr Wazir said his clients also approached the Provincial Inspection Team on the matter, but no action was taken.

He argued that while the provincial cabinet had decided that all recruitment in government departments and organisations in the province would be carried out through the National Testing Service and Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency and that no other testing agency was allowed to conduct tests for the purpose.

The counsel, however, said the respondents, including the assembly’s secretary, had violated that cabinet decision by giving away that contract to a private testing agency.

He claimed that a nephew of the then MPA from Swat, Fazal Hakeem Khan, was inducted as the assistant protocol officer and the son of MPA Mohammad Abdul Salam as the assistant director (reporting), while two residents of Matta area in Swat, the native town of the then chief minister, were appointed on his recommendation.

Mr Wazir claimed that some appointees were recommended by the assembly’s speaker.

He said that an employee of the Hazara University also made it to the assembly as a stenographer on deputation before he became a permanent staff member as the speaker’s protocol officer.

The lawyer added that the officer in question had appointed his wife as the assistant research officer in BPS-16 and his brother-in-law as the law officer in BPS-17.

He also claimed that the secretary appointed three of his family members to the assembly.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023