ISLAMABAD: The regularisation of around a hundred Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials from grade 16 and above has been referred to the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Wednesday referred cases of the regularisation of 74 FIA officials working in the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PICES), the Intergrated Border Management System (IBMS), the National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes and the Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) on a contractual basis.

The services of these employees were regularised at the direction of a cabinet subcommittee headed by Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah during the last PPP government.

The IHC has already forwarded the cases of another 25 officials to the commission in an identical petition.

In response to an earlier direction, the FPSC told the court on Sept 25 that regularised officials would be submit to written tests to confirm their appointments on the existing pay scale.

“The commission has approved the processing criteria of the cases of contract employees for regularisation by holding written tests and interviews in pursuance of judgment of the Islamabad High Court (IHC),” an FPSC letter, written to the Ministry of Interior in compliance with the IHC order, said.

The letter added: “In this regard syllabus for computer related posts and accounts/finance related posts of immigration and passport has been prepared by the commission…the date and venue of written test will be communicated in due course of time.”

On a petition filed by Shafqat Jamal, Justice Kayani directed the FIA director general and the interior secretary “to transmit the cases of respondent No.6 to 80 to the Federal Public Service Commission who shall consider their eligibility, educational record and other relevant credentials in terms of section 11(b) of Civil Servant Act, 1973 read with powers conferred in Rules 4 and 5 of the FPSC (functions), Rules 1973.”

The court disposed of the petition with the expectation that the FPSC Islamabad will “decide the question of eligibility or otherwise of respondent No.6 to 80 within six months from the date of receiving of record from the Director General FIA and Secretary Minister of Interior.”

Mr Jamal had contended before the court that contractual FIA employees received an order for their regularisation from Khursheed Shah’s committee due to misrepresentation.

According to the petition, the FIA was clear that appointments in grade 16 and above could only be made through the FPSC.

However, contracted and daily-wage employees of the agency working on various projects received a favourable decision from the aforementioned committee because of misrepresentation.

The petition said: “All the said respondents could not be considered as civil servants, unless their credentials, experience and eligibility have been considered under FIA Appointment, Promotion and Transfer (ATP), Rules, 1975.”

The FIA additional director law and the assistant attorney general argued before the court that in light of the recent judgement passed by an IHC division bench, the cases of regularisation of FIA officials may be referred to the FPSC.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2019