KARACHI, Feb 14: The Sindh High Court on Thursday once again directed the interior secretary, the additional director of the Federal Investigation Agency and the FIA’s investigation officer to file their separate replies in a petition of the National Bank of Pakistan against investigation into the NBP’s investment in eurobonds.

A division bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, which had earlier directed the respondents to file their comments, put off the hearing to a date to be later announced by the court’s office after it put the respondents on notice afresh.

NBP counsel Muhammad Sarwar Shahid stated that the additional director of the FIA issued a letter to the bank on Aug 23, 2012 seeking record pertaining to the investment in eurobonds. He submitted that the NBP was sent another letter on Sept 6, 2012 by top FIA officials pressing the bank to hand over the investment record.

The counsel said the contents of the FIA’s letter were vague as it did not specify any offence purportedly committed by the NBP under the laws.

He said he had himself gone through the entire matter and did not find any irregularity or embezzlement in the process of the investment in eurobonds.

The counsel prayed to the court to declare the FIA letter illegal and restrain the federal agency from harassing the executive officers of the bank.

KPT employees’ sacking restrained A division bench headed by Justice Faisal Arab restrained the Karachi Port Trust from firing contractual employees who met the criteria for regularisation of their services.As many as 27 employees moved the court against the KPT’s decision to terminate them.

The KPT workers union through its general secretary Abdul Razzaq Memon and 26 others impleaded the ports and shipping secretary and the KPT chairman.

Their counsel submitted that the petitioners were KPT employees on a contract basis in different cadres and they had been assured that they would be regularised. He said the KPT had earlier regularised 956 employees appointed on contract and some of them on the ‘son quota’.

The counsel stated that the KPT administration threatened the employees that their services would be terminated as some of them had joined the KPT trade union. Subsequently, he said, the employees filed a case before the National Industrial Relations Commission that ruled against the KPT decision of terminating their services.

The petitioners’ lawyer stated that his clients later withdrew their case as they were assured by the respondent, the KPT administration, that their services would be regularised as were done in the case of other contractual employees.

He said the KPT threatened the employees with dismissal after they applied for membership of the KPT’s workers union. The petitioners prayed to the court to declare that they were entitled to being regularised in the KPT. They prayed to the court to direct the respondents to regularise their services and restrain them from firing them.

The court ordered that in case any of the petitioners fell within the criteria of regularisation in term of directives dated Feb 1, 2012 by the federal minister of ports and shipping then he shall not be removed from the job till the next hearing.

The bench also issued a notice to the federal law officer and put off the hearing to March 4.