LHC upholds pharmacists’ appointments on contract

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition of Pakistan Pharmacists Association and upheld contractual appointments of pharmacists (field force) made by the Punjab government.

The association through its counsel Mansoor Usman Awan contended that the impugned recruitment process was totally illegal as the government was not empowered under the law to create such classes of pharmacists. He said the government had not duly fulfilled the requirements under the law for appointment on a specific post/category either on regular or contract basis as it was mandatory for the authorities to create specific post for a specific time period which had not been done in accordance with law.

He said the impugned recruitment was conducted against the Contract Appointment Policy, 2004, which set minimum period for the contract appointment three years to five years but the government was making the impugned appointments only for a period of two years.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned appointments for being unlawful. Assistant Advocate General Ashfaq Ahmad Kharal opposed the maintainability of the petition and the locus standi of the association to agitate the matter. He said the association concealed actual facts of the case and it had not come to the court with clean hands.

He said the petition had been filed on the basis of mala fide only to blackmail the government as the authorities had adopted a zero tolerance policy against adulterated and spurious drugs and malpractices.

He said all the posts were being filled by after fulfilling all legal requirements and the process had been initiated after recommendations of the competent authority. After hearing both sides, Justice Jawad Hassan dismissed the petition and upheld the appointments of the new pharmacists on contract basis.