PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKD) to temporarily consider nine civil servant doctors of the health department for its posts of specialist registrars.

A bench consisting of Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Inamullah Khan issued notices to the respondents including the provincial health secretary, Policy Board of Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) and board of governors of the MTI IKD, seeking their response to a petition filed by those nine candidates challenging a letter of the policy board’s chairman wherein certain eligibility conditions were provided for recruitment against the posts of specialist or experiential registrars.

The petition is jointly filed by nine medical officers of the health department including Dr Tariq Saleem Khan and others, challenging the impugned letter issued by the policy board’s chairman, Dr Nausherwan Burki, on Jun 22, 2026, to the chairmen and members of the BoGs of all MTIs in the province, whereby eligibility for the said posts of registrars was restricted by giving preference to non-civil servants and also laying down condition that the qualification of FCPS, required for the candidates, should be acquired within the previous 18- month period.

The petitioners have sought declaration of the court that the impugned letter of Jun 22 as well as the impugned advertisement for multiple posts of specialist or experiential registrars, were illegal and in violation of the relevant laws and rules.

Petition challenges eligibility conditions for key IKD positions

They sought directives of the court for the respondents to act strictly in accordance with law and to re-advertised the same without the impugned conditions.

Advocate Habib Anwar appeared for the petitioners and stated that his clients had attained fellowship/ FCPS in their respective specialties from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan and all of them had Level-III qualification.

He stated that according to the MTI faculty criteria regulations, the candidates seeking appointment as assistant professor, must have two-year post qualification experience under PMDC Regulation.

He stated that in order to acquire the requisite experience, the impugned position of experiential (specialist) registrar was created in MTIS, for which the recruitment requirement was MBBS as well as FCPS in the relevant specialty.

The counsel stated that the respondents recruited candidates on the basis of this requirement from time-to-time.

Mr Anwar argued that through the impugned letter the eligibility was restricted through an unjustified condition that the qualification of FCPS should be acquired within the last 18 months.

Furthermore, he added that restrictions were imposed on candidates working as civil servants whose appointment were to be considered against the left-over posts after appointment of non-civil servants.

He stated that since the impugned letter was addressed to the MTIs, the respondents through the impugned advertisement advertised various posts including that of the said registrars.

The counsel argued that the appointment prospects of the petitioners were blocked through both the impugned conditions added to the advertisement pursuant to the impugned letter by the policy board’s chairman.

He argued that the appointing authority had incorporated unreasonable and illogical conditions in the advertisement.

The counsel added that no such conditions were prescribed under the relevant rules therefore, incorporation of aforesaid conditions in the advertisement was wholly unjustified and without lawful authority.

The chairman of the MTI Policy Board, in his letter, said that these posts (specialist or experiential registrars) were created to allow newly FCPS qualified doctors i.e qualified within the previous 18 months, to obtain the two years post qualification experience required by the PMDC to become eligible to apply for assistant professor posts with no extension.

“Since these posts are planned to create a pool of young doctors eligible for our MTIs, preference is to be given to non-civil servant doctors. However, after proper advertisement and selection, some posts remain open, they may be offered to civil servants on the condition that their pay continues to come from their civils service posts and no salary liability falls on the MTIs,” the letter states.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2026