LHC seeks report from Chairman Wapda

LAHORE - A complaint cell of the Lahore High Court has sought report from the chairman Wapda within 10 days on the complaint of a citizen about the lack of transparency in recruitment process. A citizen has sent a complaint to the LHC saying all power distribution companies across Pakistan were hiring employees for the posts of grade 1 to 16. But this hiring process lack transparency as on the instruction of Electric Power Company (PEPCO), all companies have waived written test on the pretext that holding of test would not be feasible due to security situation. And short listed candidates would be interviewed for hiring. The complainant said a few minutes interview can not determine the eligibility of a candidate. He apprehended that condition of written test had been waived to accommodate favorites as had been done in the department over the years. He said the LHC should direct PEPCO and its distribution companies to devise a foolproof method of hiring so that deserving persons were not deprived of their rights. Bench constituted to hear Nazims' petition The chief justice of the Lahore High Court on Thursday constituted a division bench to hear a petition moved by different district nazims of Punjab challenging the introduction of commissionorate system through an amendment in Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance, 2008. The bench comprising Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman will start hearing from December 8. The petitioners nazims include Major Tahir Sadiq, district nazim, Attock, Javed Ikhlas, district nazim, Rawalpindi, Ch Shafaat, district nazim, Gujarat, Abdul Rehman Kanju, district nazim, Lodhran, Tariq Bashir Cheema, district nazim, Bahawalpur, Sardar Ghulam Abbas, district nazim, Chakwal, Ch Farrukh Altaf, district nazim, Jhelum and Faisal Mukhtar, district nazim, Multan. Petitioners counsel Fawad Chaudhry submitted that the provincial government had made amendment in the Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001 and had appointed commissioners in respective divisions creating a new sheet of bureaucracy for which a budget of Rs 84.5 million was also approved for this purpose. He asserted the amendment in the law and the subsequent notification in this regard were a violation of the Constitution and impliedly repealed the Punjab Local Govt Ordinance 2001. The counsel prayed to the court to declare the amendment and the notification illegal and a violation of the constitution. Comments sought from SSP Sheikhupura The Lahore High Court on Thursday sought comments from SSP Sheikhupura within one week on the petition of a citizen who complained that police had rented his land but neither it was paying rental amount nor vacating the land. Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman passed this order on the petition of Rana Yousaf, who through his counsel argued that Muridke police in December 2008 had hired his 18 marla land to sep up Muridke City police station. He said an agreement in this regard was also put in black and white but since then the police were neither paying him monthly rent nor vacating the land. He said he had approached the police high-ups but no one paid heed to his complaint. The court after hearing preliminary arguments sought comments from the SSP. Govt fails to recover missing persons Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Liaquat Baloch has said that it is due to insensitivity of the government that no practical measures are being taken to recover the missing persons. In a statement issued here Thursday, he said during the military rule when the present ruling parties were in the opposition, they had been agitating against Pervez Musharrafs atrocities but on coming to power, their attitude had changed altogether. The JI leader appealed to the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary to give due importance to the issue of missing persons. He said the families of the missing persons had played an important role during the movement for the independence of judiciary and restoration of superior court judges.