MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Tuesday abrogated an allegedly controversial piece of law legislated by the previous PML-N government to regularise an unspecified number of ad-hoc, temporary and contractual employees without appearing in any competitive exam.

The house, which met on the requisition of the combined opposition, was presided over by speaker Chaudhry Anwarul Haq.

As the chair gave floor to senior minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas to read out the report of the select committee on the issue, leader of the opposition Chaudhry Latif Akbar raised some technical objections in the light of rule 163 of rules of procedure.

However, the chair shrugged off the objections and allowed Mr Ilyas to present his report, which according to him included a dissenting note by former prime minister and PML-N lawmaker Raja Farooq Haider and an amendment note by the PPP lawmaker Sardar Javaid Ayub.

Law aimed at regularising temporary employees

On this, the opposition members staged a walkout from the house, but they were brought back by minister for local government and rural development Khawaja Farooq Ahmed.

Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, minister for law and information, maintained that the previous government’s legislation had not just negated but usurped the fundamental right of eligible citizens to enter a fair competition for government jobs.

The minister then tabled the AJK Regulation of the Services of Certain Categories of Contractual, Ad-hoc or Temporary Government Employment (Terms and Conditions) (Repeal) Ordinance, 2021 and sought voting on it. The house approved the law with a majority vote.

Speaking on the occasion, leader of the house Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi termed the previous legislation as “black law” and said its repeal had upheld the supremacy of law and merit in AJK.

Making it clear that no beneficiary of the repealed law was being shown the door, he said: “Instead, all of them will be passed through a [competitive] process under the relevant rules to prove their eligibility.”

Earlier, the house witnessed exchange of acrimonious remarks between the speaker and minister for planning and development Chaudhry Mohammad Rasheed, with the latter accusing the former of taking opposition’s sides.

On this, the visibly irked speaker snubbed him, saying he should not be dictated on how to advance the proceedings of the house.

The chair pointed out that the AJK Constitution called for 60 sittings in a year whereas it had so far met only 17 days.

Former speaker and PML-N chief organiser Shah Ghulam Qadir contended on a point of order that matters regarding the continuity of session and its business should not be discussed on the floor of the house but in the speaker’s chamber.

Later the house was adjourned by the chair till Friday.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2022