ISLAMABAD: In a decision that brought relief to thousands of federal government employees, including medical professionals, the National Assembly Standing Committee for Cabinet decided to send the matter of employees regularised by the PPP government to parliament for a decision.
The employees, initially hired on daily wages and contract basis, were regularised by the PPP government on the recommendation of a cabinet committee headed by Khursheed Shah. Following the decision, thousands of workers had been regularised across dozens of ministries and divisions. However, the Supreme Court ordered the authorities last year to restart the process under the Federal Public Service Commission, as these employees were regularised without tests and interviews.
After months of deliberation, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Cabinet, while considering the suggestion of Syed Khursheed Shah, unanimously decided to send the matter to parliament for a decision. It said there will be no adverse action against these professionals till the final decision by parliament. The committee, chaired by MNA Malik Ibrar Ahmed, decided to protect the rights of the employees as they had been working for the last 15 to 20 years.
While talking to Dawn, a prominent orthopaedic surgeon at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Dr Asfandyar Khan, said that the medical community was grateful to the standing committee, the government, and Mr Shah for acknowledging their problems. “We were facing severe pressure and under a lot of stress due to the ongoing situation. However, we believe now the issue will be addressed,” he added.
NA panel rules out adverse decision in regularisation case till final decision
He said that a number of doctors, including Professor Ahmareen, Associate Professors Dr Syed Amer Shah, Dr Faheem, Pims Deputy Executive Director Dr Irum Naveed, Director Indoor Dr Raana Fatima, Director Emergence Dr Sherjeel, pharmacists Ayeshah Khan, Sidra Sulehri, Sharif Khatak and over 150 other doctors and nurses were regularised by the Syed Khursheed Shah committee and had pinned their hopes at the standing committee.
“A majority of these employees are near or over 50 years old and have been working in hospitals for almost 25 years. Sending them to the FPSC would be tantamount to expelling them from service as they might not be able to clear tests and interviews after so many years,” he explained.
A senior doctor at Polyclinic, Dr Abdul Jabbar Bhutto, said that employees had worked on contracts and daily wages for over a decade and finally a cabinet committee headed by Khursheed Shah had regularised them.
He said the employees will be able to work with dedication after the decision, adding that they will be ready to deal with any health crisis as they finally have peace of mind now. “Employees are very happy and they are thankful to the government, the standing committee chairman, and especially Syed Khursheed Shah, who personally played a role in addressing this issue,” he said.
It may be mentioned that in September 2024, some employees had approached the Supreme Court for seniority and other benefits, but the apex court instead ordered them to be sent to the FPSC to reinitiate the regularisation process. On March 9, 2025, the Establishment Division issued an order due to which all ministries and divisions started working to send regularised employees to the FPSC.
Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025
