SUKKUR: The Sindh High Court Sukkur circuit on Monday ordered the irrigation secretary and other respondents to make arrangements for providing jobs to children of deceased employees of the department under the deceased employees’ son quota.

A division bench comprising Justices Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Ghulam Qadir Laghari was seized with a petition filed by Abdul Rahim Bharo, the provincial president of the All Sindh Irrigation Trade Union Federation through his lawyer Advocate Shaikh Amanullah.

During the hearing of the petition, the Sindh government filed its comments through Additional Advocate-General Liaquat Ali Shar and Assistant Advocate-General Noor Hassan Malik. Turning down the provincial government’s stance, the court ordered appointment of deceased employees’ children within three months as per the prescribed rules.

It directed the irrigation secretary to seek applications for jobs from eligible children under the deceased employees’ son quota and complete the process within two weeks and ensure issuance of job offer letters to them within three months.

A compliance report should be submitted in court, the court order said.

Speaking to the media after the order was pronounced, Mr Bharo said that the SHC verdict would benefit 663 candidates seeking jobs under the deceased employees’ son quota. All the candidates are children of irrigation department employees, according to him.

Expressing his pleasure over court’s decision in favour of the trade union, he hoped that the provincial government would comply with it in letter and spirit to mitigate the sufferings of the deceased employees’ families.

Compensation cheques

Compensation cheques were distributed on Monday among 43 wounded victims of a bomb attack on the 9th Muharram mourning procession that had taken place in Lashari Mohallah of Jacobabad on Oct 23, 2015.

Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani handed over the cheques at a ceremony held at the Jacobabad DC House. Larkana Commissioner Akbar Leghari, Jacobabad DC Agha Shah Nawaz Pathan, Mir Farooq Khan Jakhrani, Sardar Mohammed Panah Odho, elected representatives and notables of the area, besides members of the affected families, attended the gathering.

Cheques amounting to Rs500,000 were given to each of the 10 seriously wounded victims and Rs200,000 to each of the 33 others who sustained lighter wounds. Sixteen wounded people could not get cheques but were told that they would receive compensation at a later date.

Speaking to the audience, Mr Jakhrani explained that owing to a shortage of funds, 50 per cent of the amounts announced by the chief minister during his visit to Jacobabad after the attack were being paid to the wounded and seriously wounded people. He said the 16 remaning people would also get their cheques after release of more funds.

However, Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) and some other organisations held a protest demonstration, took out a rally and held a sit-in on Quetta Road to expressed their anger over the curtailed compensation amounts. They placed burning tyres on the intercity route and kept it blocked for several hours.

MWM leader Allama Maqsood Ali Domki and STP activist Dilmurad Lashari speaking to the protesters noted that the chief minister promise of providing jobs to members of the affected families was also not fulfilled.

They urged the CM to order payment of the compensation as per his commitment and also expose all those found involved in the acts of terrorism targeting the Shia community.

Senior district administration officials along with police held negotiations with the leaders and persuaded them to end the protest.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2016