HYDERABAD, Oct 17: The Commission Pass Lecturers Action Committee Sindh has accused the sindh chief minister of violating the orders of Division Bench Sindh High Court headed by the Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed with regards to appointment of 91 lecturers and demanded appointment orders in the interests of students.

Ali Bahadur Rajput, Mirza Khalid Baig, Ghulam Mustafa Shan Illahi, Aqeel Shahzad said on Wednesday that the results of lecturers were declared in February 2006 but appointment orders had not been issued till date. Their appointments were in Pakistan Studies, Muslim History, Sociology, Statistics, Geography, Microbiology and Library Science.

“We submitted applications to the Sindh chief minister and Education Department, and held demonstrations and hunger strikes but in vain,” they said adding: “Finally we filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court.”

The Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Faisal Arab gave a decision on September 5, 2007 directing the Secretary Education to issue appointment letters to the commission pass lecturers within one month failing which these lecturers would be deemed to have been duly appointed with effect from the date of the expiry of one month, they said.

Leaders of the Committee said that despite the order of High Court, the Education Department did not even issue offer letters to lecturers what to speak of appointment letters. They said the Education Department took the plea that it sent a summary to the Chief Minister House which was pending with the CM. They said it was despite the fact that according to the Sindh government’s decision, there was a shortage of 1,000 lecturers in the province which was effecting education.

The appointment of lecturers was neither a political issue nor of personal interest they said and wondered whether the chief minister had committed contempt of court by ignoring its decision.

They demanded of the Sindh chief minister to obey orders of the SHC and issue appointment letters to commission pass lecturers.

They distributed the certified copies in which the operative clause of order reads “We would allow this petition and direct that the decision on a summary be taken within one month from today (September 5, 2007) and in case no decision is effected, all the recommendees would be deemed to have been duly appointed with effect from the date of the expiry of period of one month”.