Islamabad:
Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Faiz Isa, on Thursday strongly criticized the practice of allocating government jobs to children of bureaucrats, stressing the need for a transparent and merit-based recruitment system.
“Are the children of bureaucrats somehow special? How can someone demand a job and say that their future generations should benefit as well?” Justice Isa made the remark during a hearing on an appeal involving public servants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
His comments came as the Supreme Court reviewed a case relating to government jobs allocated through a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO).
The Chief Justice, who leads a four-member bench, wondered how such regional orders could be issued by a mere divisional officer. Can a department officer run the country? He stressed that neither the constitution nor laws can be created through an order issued by a departmental officer.
Justice Isa noted that the practice of issuing orders without having proper authority began during General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime. “At that time, bureaucrats refused to sign certain orders, so Zia began the practice of writing ‘competent authority’. But no one knew who this competent authority was. Any official document should have a clear basis,” he said.
The case under review relates to a job advertisement published in 2006 in Abbottabad, offering a second-class government position. The government lawyer argued that under Section 10A, job quotas for children of retired or deceased employees are permissible.
But Chief Justice Issa rejected the idea of inherited employment rights. “Why does a son automatically get his father’s government job? Shouldn’t jobs be given to those who meet the merit criteria?” he asked. “Government employees already get pensions after they retire, and their widows are entitled to those pensions after their death. And yet, now we are saying that their children should also get jobs? I have opposed this idea in the Supreme Court.”
The Chief Justice stressed that government job quotas constitute a violation of the constitutional principle of non-discrimination. “The Constitution prohibits any form of discrimination. If a person is qualified for a job, he should be appointed on the basis of merit, not lineage.”
Justice Isa further stressed that merit-based recruitment is essential for the progress of the country. “Let those who meet the criteria for the job work. The bureaucracy should not perpetuate itself by reserving jobs for its own children.”
The court then issued a written order, stating that all notifications issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government that were inconsistent with merit-based recruitment practices should be withdrawn. “The provincial government must repeal any of these rules that violate the constitutional provisions on equality and non-discrimination,” the ruling declared.