ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi on Tuesday set aside Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to turn down the promotions of 27 bureaucrats.Disposing of a petition filed by 11 bureaucrats, Justice Kasi directed the secretary to the prime minister to process the promotions of the officers.

The petition was filed through Asma Jehangir Advocate by Mohammad Aslam Khan and Mohammad Aqil Nadeem, additional secretaries, Foreign Service of Pakistan; Aftab Ahmad Maneka, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change; Abdul Jalil, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs and Zakat; Rashid Bashir Mazari, a BS-20 officer, Mohammad Aslam Hayat, Member (Judicial) Board of Revenue, Sindh; Mukhtar Hussain Soomro, Chairman Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment Sindh; Iqbal Ahmed Bablani, Provincial Census Commissioner Sindh; Mohammad Masood Khan Afridi, Additional IG, Special Branch KP; Amir Hamza Mahsud, Additional IG KP, and Burhanul Islam, Additional Secretary (West Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Central Selection Board (CSB) had in February recommended a large number of officers for promotion from BPS-20 to BPS-21. The prime minister approved the promotions of 40 officers but deferred cases of 27.

According to the petition, out of the 27, 18 officers were from the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), five from the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) and four from Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP).

The counsel for the petitioners told the court that the government’s act to withdraw the promotions was discriminatory.

She said the promotion policy was very elaborate and gave due weightage in terms of marks for every attribute necessary for consideration of promotion.

She added that there was no precedent in which the recommendations of the CSB had been turned down by the prime minister.

The Supreme Court had already held that CSB was a semi-judicial forum hence its recommendations should not be taken lightly by the competent authority.

She argued that if the order of the prime minister for withholding the promotions of the officers was not set aside, the CSB would become a defunct body and would not recommend any person against the wishes of the prime minister.

The counsel said the object of good governance cannot be achieved by exercising discretionary powers unreasonably or arbitrarily without application of mind. It is largely dependent upon upright and strong bureaucracy.

She requested the court that the order of the prime minister remanding the matter back to the CSB may be set aside. She requested the court to direct the federal government to confirm the recommendations of the CSB regarding the promotion of the petitioners.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2014