ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Punjab government to start the process for regularization of services of 500 lecturers through the Public Service Commission within a period of one month.

The court directed the provincial government to provide all those concessions which the federal government had announced for those who were appointed as ad hoc employees.

The court further said that no permanent appointment should be made against the vacancies against which the petitioners had been working.

The petitioners were represented by advocate Mohammad Akram Sheikh, and Punjab government was represented by provincial advocate-general Maqbool Ellahi Malik and additional advocate general Barrister Tariq Khokhar.

The petitioners had been employed in 1995 after the announcement of vacancies and they were interviewed by a board.

Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, writing for three judges bench, observed that federal government had regularised the services of ad hoc employees under a policy which was adopted by the provinces, sans Punjab.

It was held that lectures in Punjab were also entitled to be regularized.

He said for an ordinary man, an employment was a source of sustenance so he could not be deprived of his right to earn his living.

It was held that all those who had been working for the last many years had the right to be regularized. It was pointed out that the Punjab AG had not produced any cogent reason for not regularizing the jobs for such a long period.