Court seeks report on police promotion criteria

LAHORE
The Lahore High Court Monday sought a detailed report on promotion criteria and service structure of constables serving with Telecommunication and Transport Department of Punjab police.
Waseem-ul-Hassan, a constable, filed a petition and pointed out through his counsel that police constables were working in telecommunication and transport department of Punjab police for last many years. Neither were they allowed to join any other department of the government nor were they promoted to the next ranks in their own department.
The petitioner stated that constables are promoted to the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) on 25 per cent quota. He said when he and his other colleagues applied for the posts of ASI through Punjab Public Service Commission and passed the written exam of National Testing Service their telecommunication and transport department refused to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
He stated that he also approached the authorities concerned but in vain. The petitioner contended that that it was their legal and fundamental right to apply and work with any public sector department.
The denial of issuance of NOCs is against the law as it was exploitive approach, he submitted. He pleaded the court to order the telecommunication and transport department to issue them NOCs so they could join the police department as an ASI.
SP (telecommunication and transport department) Zulfiqar Ali appeared before the court and told the judge that the constables of the department are promoted in accordance with set criteria.
However, he could not tell the court about service structure of the police constables. At this, Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh ordered the department to come up with promotion criteria and service structure of the constables. The court would resume hearing on November 25.