KARACHI, April 2: The federal government has directed all its departments and organisations to immediately implement the orders of the Federal Services Tribunal, directing the reinstatement or granting some other relief to civil servants.
Well-placed sources told Dawn that an office memorandum was issued a couple of weeks ago by the cabinet secretariat of the Establishment Division.
They said a copy of a letter from the office of the Attorney General of Pakistan was also enclosed with the memorandum (9/4/2006-Lit-4) sent to all departments under administrative control of the federal ministries and divisions.
The sources said the memorandum directed the federal departments to comply with the instructions contained in the AGP’s letter to the Establishment secretary.
They said the AGP office letter said that the Tribunal’s orders passed in service matters against the government were not being implemented.
The sources quoted the letter as saying that the government departments postponed the implementation of the FST orders on the ground that appeals against the FST orders were preferred and pending disposal in Supreme Court.
They said the letter informed the government departments that the FST order must be implemented forthwith unless it was suspended specifically by an order of the Supreme Court.
Sources said, however, the letter advised the government departments to add a clause in the implementation of the FST order that it shall be subject to final decision by the Supreme Court.
They said the AGP office sent the letter after Supreme Court imposed heavy costs up to Rs50,000 on certain departments in some cases for not implementing the FST orders.
According to sources, the letter said: “The matter must be attended to urgently to avoid any further financial loss to the national exchequer. Thus all matters which are decided by the FST or which are pending in Supreme Court or which may be instituted before the SC against any order passed by the FST directing the reinstatement or granting some other relief to a civil servant be complied with forthwith unless the order appealed against is specifically suspended by the Supreme Court”.
The letter further said: “The Secretary Establishment is further requested to convey this message to all concerned departments.”
