PESHAWAR: A lawyer has challenged in court the promotion of a special secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly first to BPS-20 and then to BPS-21 within one year, stating that the same was against the promotion rules and upgradation policy.

The lawyer, Ali Azim Afridi, filed a petition here the other day, requesting the court to ask the special secretary, Syed Wiqar Shah, under what authority he had been holding the post in BPS-20 and then in BPS-21 as special secretary because it was contrary to law.

The petitioner has challenged the two notifications of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly speaker issued on May 25, 2024 and Jan 17, 2025, whereby the special secretary was promoted to BPS-20 and BPS-21, respectively.

The petitioner stated Mr Shah was earlier serving in Pakistan International Airlines Corporation and was appointed on deputation in the assembly as special secretary in BPS-19.

He said that the petitioner had challenged his earlier posting and subsequent absorption in the high court and the same was declared illegal through a judgement on Nov 13, 2018. Subsequently, the petitioner stated that the respondent was again appointed in BPS-19 in the provincial assembly. The petitioner stated that in 2021, the respondent was relieved of his duty for further posting/appointment as director general research, Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), Islamabad, on deputation for a period of three years.

He contended that the board of governors of PIPS ordered repatriation of the respondent in Aug 2021, but the order was held in abeyance by the then speaker of National Assembly in his capacity as president of the institute on Sep 3, 2021.

Mr Afridi said that the respondent was later on repatriated back to KP Assembly as director inter-provincial relations on Dec 19, 2023. He stated that all of a sudden he was notified as special secretary in BPS-20 through the impugned order on May 25, 2024, with effect from Aug 23, 2023.

He said that subsequently, through the other impugned order on Jan 17, 2025, he was promoted to BPS-21. He contended that the said orders were contrary to the provisions of relevant law, rules and upgradation policy.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2025