LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday stayed the appointment process for over 2,000 public sector posts in Punjab Health Department due to the government failure to implement the mandatory quota for persons with disabilities.

Justice Raheel Kamran issued the stay order during the hearing of a writ petition filed by Muhammad Khurram Shahzad, who is a qualified medical doctor and a person with permanent disability due to a spinal cord injury.

Petitioner’s counsel Rai Abu Sufiyan argued that the Punjab Health and Population Department advertised 2,115 posts, including medical officers, for the financial year 2025-26.

However, he said, the advertisement was in blatant violation of Section 31 of the Punjab Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2022, which mandates a minimum three per cent quota for persons with disabilities in all public sector departments.

The counsel argued that the impugned action of the government was patently illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory and violative to fundamental rights of the citizens.

He said the government was legally bound to act strictly in accordance with statutory provisions and cannot bypass or ignore mandatory quota in appointments on a regular or contract basis.

He argued that the denial of employment opportunity to disabled professionals without providing reserved quota infringes the petitioner’s right to dignity and livelihood as protected under articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution.

The counsel relied on a recent January 2026 order by the Federal Constitutional Court and the landmark Supreme Court judgment in Peerzada Waqar Aslam versus NAB (2023 SCMR 742) to support his arguments.

He asked the court to set aside the advertisement issued by the government for the recruitments without mandatory quota for disabled persons.

He further asked the court to order the government to issue a fresh advertisement by allocating a three per cent quota under the law.

Justice Kamran issued notices to the Punjab chief secretary and the secretary for health and population department for submission of parawise comments and a detailed report on the matter.

“The appointments impugned shall not be made against three per cent posts prescribed for persons with disabilities in terms of Section 31 of the Act,” the order stated. The judge adjourned the hearing till April 2.

PLGA: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday allowed time to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to file a reply to a petition challenging the Punjab Local Government Act 2025 (PLGA).

Justice Sultan Tanvir Ahmad heard the petition filed by PTI MPA Sheikh Imtiaz Mahmood.

During the hearing, a counsel for the ECP sought time for preparation of arguments and to submit a reply. The judge allowed the request and adjourned the hearing for a date to be fixed after the Eid holidays.

The petition contends that while the government claims before the court that local government elections would be held on a party basis, the procedure being practically adopted contradicts this claim.

It states that under the Punjab Local Government Act 2025, the method of electing multiple councillors simultaneously within a single union council does not align with constitutional requirements and democratic principles.

The petitioner asked the court to conduct a detailed review of the matter and determine whether the system met the requirements of a genuine local government framework under Article 140-A of the Constitution.

The MPA further argued that delay in holding local government elections and ambiguity in the electoral process was undermining the democratic system. He urged the court to direct the provincial government to present complete and accurate facts so that the local government system could be made functional in accordance with the Constitution.

The Punjab government had in December 2025 told the high court that the local government elections in the province would be held on a “party basis”.

Court holidays: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Aalia Neelum on Wednesday announced three holidays for Eidul Fitr from March 19 to 21 instead of March 21 to 23.

The holidays will be observed at LHC principal seat of Lahore, its allied benches in Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi and district judiciary in Punjab, says a notification.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2026