PESHAWAR: Issuing a stay order, the Peshawar High Court on Tuesday stopped the federal government from laying off the employees of the Pakistan Public Works Department’s Peshawar offices until further orders.

It also issued notices to the secretaries of the establishment, cabinet, housing and works, and finance divisions, giving them a fortnight to file comments on a petition against the federal government’s decision to abolish Pak-PWD, an attached department of the housing and works ministry, and adjourned the hearing.

The schedule of the next hearing by Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Mohammad Ijaz Khan will be announced later.

The petition is jointly filed by assistant executive engineer Noor Zaman Shinwari and 22 other employees of Pak-PWD, Peshawar.

Seeks govt reply to petition against decision to abolish dept

The petitioners requested the court to declare unconstitutional the May 27 2024 orders of the prime minister to the housing and works secretary to come up with a concrete plan for winding up Pak-PWD and action on them.

They also said the cabinet’s July 10 move to approve a summary for the abolition of Pak-PWD should also be declared against the Constitution and the law.

The petitioners prayed the court to declare the handing over of all ongoing provincial development projects, being executed by Pak-PWD under the supervision of the federal government, to the relevant provincial departments a violation of the Constitution’s Articles 270AA and Article 267A.

They sought interim relief requesting the court to suspend the process of the abolition of the department and declare that no adverse action should be taken against the petitioners, including the forceful separation from service through the golden handshake and voluntary separation scheme, until the final disposal of the petition.

Advocate Aamir Javed and Barrister Saqib Raza appeared for the petitioners and said Pak-PWD, established during British rule in 1854, was a federal attached department with headquarters in Islamabad and sub-offices in all major cities and over 6,000 employees.

They said the department was the custodian of 17,694 immovable properties of the federal government comprising different government lands, buildings, residential accommodations, federal lodges, offices, hostels, family suits, etc. and was also responsible for the maintenance of around 202 federal government properties.

The lawyers contended that Pak-PWD was currently executing 297 public sector development projects in both housing and works sectors.

They contended that owing to the importance of this department, the Chief Martial Law Administrator decided in 1978 that all work of the federal departments should be executed by Pak-PWD.

The counsel added that constitutional protection was given to all such presidential orders under Article 270-A of the Constitution.

They said in a controversial move on May 27 2024, the prime minister ordered the immediate dissolution of Pak-PWD and unilaterally directed the housing and works secretary to prepare a concrete abolition plan.

The lawyers said a notification was later issued for the formation of a committee to submit its recommendations on the matter within two weeks for the consideration of the prime minister.

They said another sub-committee was formed on June 27 to propose modalities for handing over the development projects, being executed by Pak-PWD, to its successors or provincial governments.

The lawyers said the prime minister chaired a meeting on June 29 and issued several directions regarding Pak-PWD, including the establishment of the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company for handling the federal PSDP projects assigned to Pak-PWD.

They pointed out that the respondents had not released any funds to Pak-PWD for ongoing development projects since July 1 2024, affecting many of them.

The counsel contended that on July 10, the federal cabinet, in violation of the constitutional provisions, approved a summary for winding up the department and formation of PIDC.

They said in a review meeting on July 23, the prime minister issued directives for mandatory separation of the technical staff of the department through the “golden handshake and voluntary separation scheme.”

The lawyers argued that the petitioners were civil servants and that unless the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Servants Act was amended, their services couldn’t be dispensed with.

They added that even in case of abolition or re-organisation of Pak-PWD, those employees had to be adjusted in other departments.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2024