PESHAWAR, Nov 14: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet on Monday decided to regularise the services of Malakand division's Ilaqa Qazis/extra assistant commissioners employed in 1994-95 on contractual basis.

“The cabinet has decided to regularise their (Ilaqa Qazis) services on humanitarian grounds as they've performed for a long period of time on contractual basis,” provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told a news conference here.

The minister said the services of eight Ilaqa Qazis would be regularised in relaxation of rules prohibiting the contractual employees' confirmation as regular staff members of the provincial government.

According to him, 11 Ilaqa Qazis were employed in Malakand division on contractual basis for one year under the Sharia Nizam-i-Adal Regulation-1994. Two of them switched over to other jobs, while the job of one was terminated in fulfillment of the official rules. Contracts of the remaining (eight) completed their legal term on July 22, 2010 but weren't extended due to the government's policy. The minister said Ilaqa Qazis' services couldn't be regularised in accordance with the Regularisation of Service Act-2009.

“A legal course will be adopted to restore their services on regular basis. A committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the province's additional chief secretary to review a proposed bill for the purpose and submit its report to the government,” he said.