PHC stops appointments against senior positions at LRH

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday issued restraining order in appointment of professors, associate professors and assistant professors in the Lady Reading Hospital directing the authorities concerned not to issue final order of the appointments till final order in the petition.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth issued restraining order in the writ petition filed by Prof Dr Musa Kaleem, president of Doctors Association PGMI in Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), against the fresh appointment of professors, associate professors and assistant professors against vacant posts in the hospital.

The court issued directives to the hospital director and other authorities concerned not to take any adverse action against the petitioners’ doctors till disposal of the petition. The court also issued notice to secretary Health, chief secretary, Board of Governors (BoGs) through its chairman LRH, PMDC and Director (HR) LRH to submit reply in the petition.

During hearing, the petitioners’ lawyer, Mohibullah Kakakhel, submitted before the bench that the petitioners are teaching staff and are institutional employees of the PGMI and are governed by the recently enacted MTI Act, 2015.

He said the petitioners being institutional employees have own seniority lists and are entitled to be promoted and appointed against the vacant posts of the teaching cadre in the PGMI. The lawyer informed the bench that the hospital director had advertised posts in national and international newspapers for fresh appointment of professors, associate professors and assistant professors on vacant posts in the hospital.

He pointed out that amazingly, there was no mention of domicile, no mention of experience, nationality, number of posts and no upper and lower age limit for the appointments of professors, associate professors and assistant professors in the hospital.

He submitted that first the advertisement was given in the British Medical Journal and LANCET Magazine with a heavy cost, of which no doctor from Pakistan was aware. However, in Pakistan the advertisement was given on January 25, but there was no mention of experience, age limit, domicile, nationality and the number of posts.

The whole medical profession, he said, was upset by the present government as it does not follow he MTI Act, the PHC larger bench decision and rules framed on December 12, last year regarding appointment and promotion on the vacant posts in the hospital. He argued that the advertised posts are promotion posts and outsiders can only be appointed if no eligible candidate is available in the PGMI (LRH Peshawar).