ISLAMABAD: Female teachers working in various schools of Islamabad under the wedlock policy have expressed reservations about a committee constituted to examine their service.

A single-member bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, took up petitions filed by the deputationst teachers for hearing on Thursday.

The petitioners’ counsel argued before the court that Saqib Shahab director planning, and Azam Gakhar, director legal, Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), have been included in the five-member committee formed to take interviews of the teachers. Mr Shahab and Mr Gakhar had already issued orders against the petitioners which the IHC declared as void.

While suspending the repatriation orders of the teachers last month, the IHC had ordered that a committee be set up at the ministry level to look into the matters of the teachers working under the wedlock policy. But the FDE director general contrary to the court order included the two officials in the committee.

“This manifests the bias and malafide intent against the teachers,” he said.

The counsel requested the court to dissolve the committee.

However, Justice Minallah ordered that if the committee showed discrimination against the teachers, the court “is here and we will keep an eye on proceedings of the committee. The teachers should let the committee do its job.”

The court adjourned the hearing of the case till a date to be fixed by the registrar office.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2021