ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali expressed disappointment on Tuesday over appointments and promotions being made in the Sindh health department without following legal procedures.

“Why the Sindh government never follows the law and the Constitution while making appointments by ignoring other provinces like Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” regretted the chief justice asking whether the candidates from other provinces did not fulfil merit requirements.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice had taken up a case relating to illegal appointments and promotions in the provincial health department without any advertisement or holding interviews.

The case was taken up on a suo motu basis in April on an application moved by President of the Jacobabad chapter of the Pakistan Paramedical Staff Association Akber Ali Khoso.

The applicant contended that he was approaching the Supreme Court after losing hope and exhausting all avenues and possibilities. He said that earlier he sent complaints, similar to the one he submitted before the apex court, to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and relevant federal and provincial authorities but without any success. It appeared that his applications had been dumped by all departments, he regretted.

Along with the application, Mr Khoso had annexed a list of 276 individuals who were “illegally appointed, promoted and adjusted and absorbed” in the Sindh health department and requested the court to order verification of information he had provided.

He requested the court to take legal action against those whose appointments were proved to be illegal.

The chief justice asked why the Sindh government did not want to follow the rules and regulations while making appointments and why it wanted to hush up the matter by making committees.

Representing the Sindh government, Advocate Sarwar Khan informed the court an inquiry committee had been appointed to look into 276 appointments made in the Jacobabad DHO in a non-transparent manner. The committee has been tasked to furnish its findings within a month.

The court, however, was not amused. Justice Amir Hani Muslim, a member of the bench, expressed regret over the way appointments were made while doing away with the merit system and demanded justification highlighting whether rules and regulations were strictly followed or not while making appointments.

During the proceedings, Mr Khoso sought permission to submit additional documents and deplored that rules were flouted with impunity while making appointments in such a way that even men were appointed against the posts of nurses and midwives reserved for women.

The court postponed hearing for two weeks and directed the health department to submit the inquiry committee’s report to it.

The Sindh government had earlier submitted a report that the health department had sent the matter to anti-corruption authorities for a detailed inquiry. The provincial health department assured the court that the action would be taken as soon as the report of anti-corruption authorities was received.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2016