KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday extended its earlier interim order restraining the provincial authorities from processing the recruitment in over 140 departments, autonomous and other bodies of Sindh government till September 12.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), through its convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, had filed a lawsuit in the SHC against filling thousands of vacancies allegedly without completing codal formalities and in violation of rules.

At the outset of the hearing, representing the plaintiff senior counsel Dr Farogh Naseem filed an application and submitted that on Aug 9, the SHC had suspended the operation of all the advertisements attached with the suit and stopped the induction process.

However, he alleged that in order to undo the court order, the provincial government and defendants had passed backdated orders so as to defeat the process of justice and fair play.

The lawyer submitted that just before the end of the last provincial government’s tenure, all the hospitals of Sindh were opened in the night to provide backdated medical fitness certificates while police officials were undertaking police verifications all in backdate.

He submitted that a letter was sent to the chief secretary on Aug 11 for implementation of court order as inter alia, education department held a grand function at Arts Council Karachi on Aug 10, and the minister, secretary and other officers distributed around 300 appointment letters to music teachers and others.

The lawyer stated that after the last court order, the defendants had carried out both backdated and postdated appointments and released salaries with impunity.

Dr Naseem sought directives for the chief secretary to submit a report in respect of all induction processes, advertisements, appointments, disbursement of salaries, perks and privileges etc in relation to all the departments, subordinate offices, autonomous and other bodies including semi-government offices working under the umbrella of the Sindh government from June to August.

He also asked the SHC to cancel the Aug 11 decision of the Sindh cabinet and Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision taken on Aug 15, whereby banning fresh inductions and sought directives for the caretaker government of Sindh to appoint personnel in vacancies transparently and strictly in accordance with law.

The single-judge bench, headed by Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, took the application of the plaintiff on record and copies of the same were provided to a provincial law officer and lawyer for one of the dependents and they sought time to go through the same.

Barrister Faizan Memon filed power on behalf of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University as well as a counter-affidavit to an application of the plaintiff and the bench also took the same on record while copies were also supplied to the lawyer for plaintiff and a provincial law officer to examine the same. The bench also directed its office to repeat notices to most of the dependents through all modes of publication.

“Adjourned till 12.09.2023. Interim order, passed earlier to continue till the next date of hearing”, it concluded.

Earlier, the plaintiff had contended that the then outgoing provincial government, its secretaries, departments, autonomous bodies etc had unleashed a malafide and unlawful campaign to fill such vacancies without observing formalities by way of pre-poll rigging and being dished out to favorites and blue-eyed ones.

Besides citing chief secretary, secretaries of around 40 departments, secretaries to CM & governor and planning and development board, the plaintiff also impleaded all seven divisional commissioners, around 30 deputy commissioners, Sindh police, Karachi Development Authority, anti-corruption establishment, board of revenue, secretary Sindh Assembly, secretary provincial ombudsman secretariat, Sindh Employees Social Security Institution, SIBA and many other as defendants and submitted that the suit had been maintained for cancellation, declaration and permanent injunction.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2023