ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday sharply criticized the practice of reserving government jobs for children of bureaucrats, stressing the need for a transparent and merit-based recruitment system.
“Are the children of bureaucrats special? How can someone claim a job and say their future generations should benefit too?” commented Justice Isa during a hearing on an appeal relating to public servants in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
His comments came as the Supreme Court reviewed a case involving government jobs allocated through a statutory regulatory order (SRO).
The chief justice, who heads a four-member bench, questioned how a mere section officer could issue such SROs. “Can a section officer govern the country? Neither the Constitution nor laws can be created by an SRO issued by a section officer,” he said.
Justice Isa noted that the practice of issuing SROs without proper authority began during the regime of General Ziaul Haq. “Back then, bureaucrats refused to sign certain orders, so Ziaul Haq started the practice of writing ‘competent authority’. But no one knew who this competent authority was. Any official document must have a clear basis,” he said.
The case under consideration concerns a job advertisement published in 2006 in Abbottabad, which offered a second-grade government position. The government’s attorney argued that under Section 10A, labor quotas were allowed for children of retired or deceased employees.
However, Chief Justice Isa rejected the notion of inherited labor rights. “Why should a son automatically get his father’s position in the government? Shouldn’t jobs be given to those who meet the merit criteria?” asked. “Government employees already receive pensions after they retire, and their widows are entitled to those pensions after their death. Yet now we are saying that their children should also get jobs? I opposed this idea in the Supreme Court.”
The Chief Justice stressed that government employment quotas are a violation of the constitutional principle of non-discrimination. “The Constitution prohibits any form of discrimination. If a person qualifies for a job, they must be hired based on merit, not lineage.”
Justice Isa further highlighted that merit-based recruitment is essential for the country’s progress. “Let those who meet the criteria for the position work. Bureaucracy should not perpetuate itself by reserving jobs for its own children.”
The court subsequently issued a written order stating that all notifications issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government that contravened merit-based recruitment practices should be withdrawn. “The provincial government must revoke any SRO that violates constitutional provisions on equality and non-discrimination,” the ruling stated.
