ISLAMABAD, Nov 12: Former Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) chairman Lt-Gen (retired) Jamshaid Gulzar on Saturday moved the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, for early hearing of a joint petition challenging a presidential ordinance under which tenures of the commission’s top officials were slashed from five to three years.

Justice Mohammad Akhtar Shabbir of the high court had earlier adjourned the mater with a direction to the federal government to submit detailed comments on the petition to the court.

In the fresh application, the petitioner, through senior lawyer Akram Sheikh, stated that reply and parawise comments had long been filed by the federal government.

In their joint petition, the former Federal Public Service Commission chairman and the commission members, Gul Hanif, Justice (retired) Abdur Rehman Khan, Javed Akram and Tariq Saeed Haroon, had challenged the presidential ordinance, pleading the court to stay its implementation.

President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and secretaries of Establishment, and Law and Justice divisions are respondents in the case.

The petitioners contended that FPSC members enjoyed security of tenure under Section 6 of FPSC Ordinance 1977 on a par with judges of the Supreme Court or of a high court and, therefore, could not be removed from the office except in manner as provided in Article 209 of the Constitution.

Therefore, their tenure could not be curtailed by a subordinate law or through promulgation of an ordinance, they further contended.

Four MOs appointment: The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) has recommended four candidates for appointment against the posts of medical officers (BS-17).

According to a press release, the four candidates are Nadia Noreen, Roll No 40019/I; Mohammad Khalid Idrees, 40015/I; Amina Khan, 40004/I; Mohammad Usman Khan, 40041.