LAHORE, April 22: The Punjab government on Tuesday justified, in a written reply before the Lahore High Court, the termination of re-employed employees.

“These officials have been blocking promotion of thousands of eligible officers awaiting promotion,” stated the Punjab chief secretary in a reply to a petition filed by seven contractual employees of the Education Department against their April 10 removal.

The chief secretary said these employees were neither eligible for the contractual employment nor they had any legal right to hold these posts. He added an officer after retirement could only be engaged on contract if there were no eligible officers available.

He said they had been re-appointed on the directives of former chief minister but their service record showed that neither of them had any expertise in his/her field.

Citing their contracts, he said the petitioners and others could be fired without assigning any reason.

He contended that the petitions were liable to be dismissed because in the light of superior courts' judgments a contractual employee could not invoke the jurisdiction of LHC in a constitutional petition.

The chief secretary said MAO College Principal Masoodul Hasan Bokhari was the major beneficiary of the re-employment policy as he stood retired on March 31, 2004. Initially, he was awarded a contract for two years that was extended for 10 months and again for two years that was to expire in 2009.

Likewise, Muhammad Siddiqui Bhatti, an associate professor in chemistry, Govt College, Township, was given two years contract in 2007 after his retirement.