KARACHI, Oct 11: The Federal Service Tribunal has set aside the promotion of 12 Pakistan Television employees as programme producers in Group 5 in February 2003.

Allowing appeals moved by seven senior programme assistants, a bench comprising FST members Nazar Mohammad Shaikh and Hasan Raza Pasha directed the PTV to reconvene its selection board and consider candidates strictly in accordance with the policy prescribed by the PTV board of directors in October 2001.

The exercise is to be completed within three months under intimation to the tribunal. According to the October 2001 policy, 20 per cent of the posts of programme producers are to be filled through promotion of the serving Grade 4 programme assistants on the basis of seniority and fitness.

Another 20 per cent are allocated to other PTV employees holding master's degrees and having five years' experience in programme production through redesignation/ induction. Sixty per cent of the vacancies are meant for competitors for induction on merit.

According to the appellants, the policy was changed by the managing director and the requirement of experience was done away with, apparently for the sake of uniformity. Advocates M. Nawaz Shaikh and Haider Hussain represented the appellants and the respondents.

The FST held that the managing director had no authority to waive the experience requirement and throw open the posts reserved for the programme production cadre to all television employees in contravention of a policy laid down by the PTV board of directors.

Citing superior court judgments, it ruled out an objection to its jurisdiction. The tribunal observed that matters relating to eligibility for promotion were subject to judicial scrutiny.