PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party on Thursday moved Peshawar High Court against a law enacted by the provincial government for termination of services of thousands of employees, recruited during the last caretaker government in the province.

The provincial president of PPP, Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, filed a petition requesting the court to declare as illegal and unconstitutional KP Employees (Removal from service) Act, 2025.

The petitioner stated that the impugned law was against the principle of natural justice and fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan. He also sought interim relief, requesting the court to restrain respondents including provincial government from initiating proceedings under the impugned law.

The petition filed through lawyers Gohar Rehman Khattak and Bilal Ahmad Durrani includes as respondents the KP government through its chief secretary, secretaries of law and establishment departments, secretary of KP Assembly and KP advocate general.

The petitioner stated that the provincial caretaker government was appointed by the KP governor on Feb 1, 2023, under Article 105 of the Constitution. He said that during its tenure the said government made recruitments in various departments and government-owned companies against regular posts through proper channel under relevant rules and regulations.

He claimed that after their appointment, those employees attained the status of public civil servants. He said that KP Assembly passed the impugned Act on Jan 27, 2025, which provided for terminating services of those employees appointed by the caretaker government.

The petitioner said that the law provided that employee would mean those appointed through initial recruitment, by various departments, against regular posts, during the tenure of caretaker government in the province with effect from Jan 22, 2023, to Feb 29, 2024.

He said that the law provided that the recruited employees would be deemed to have never been appointed and their appointment were declared to be void. He contended that it was whimsical to note that the respondents were only interested in declaring such appointments as illegal whereas the vacancies on which they had been appointed had not been abolished and were still intact.

Mr Bacha said that under the Constitution of Pakistan it was incumbent that the state should not make any law, which took away any right conferred upon the citizens under it, therefore any law contravening provisions of the Constitution was void.

The petitioner claimed that the impugned law was an arbitrary piece of legislation and its enactment was based on malafide and political considerations. He added that recruited persons were qualified for the said posts and it was against their fundamental rights to be removed from service through the impugned law.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2025