Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: After the refusal of the Sindh government to defend the Suo Moto Case (SMC) over appointments of the chairman and members of the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC), the three members have filed an application in the Supreme Court requesting it to hear their case of appointment on merits.

The SMC was initiated on an application filed by an Advocate Muhammad Junaid Farooqi, wherein he challenged the eligibility of commission’s chairman along with eight members of the commission. He, in his letter, had argued that the Chairman SPSC Muhammad Saleem Bhounr and other members do not fall within the eligibility criteria for possessing the posts, adding their qualifications are less than the qualification required for posts.

Subsequently on October 17, the top court had halted the SPSC from new selections or fresh appointment of officers in the provincial government till the next date of hearing fixed for November 3.

Accordingly, Chairman SPSC Muhammad Saleem Bhounr and eight members of SPSC are being persuaded to tender their resignations by the Sindh Government, the application stated. However, the three members, including Saindad Khan Solangi, Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh and Muhammad Hanif Pathan filed an application in the top court requesting it to allow them to pleading their case.

The other members of the commission include Syed Javed Ali Shah Bukhari, Shamsuddin Hisbani, Dr. Baz Muhammad Junejo, Froze Mehmood Bhatti and Ashique Ali Memon.

The application stated that the applicants have been appointed as members by a competent authority after scrutinising the criteria and procedure and none of them lack the qualifications in any respect, adding that they are performing their functions in accordance with the law as they are fully competent and had rightly been appointed under Article 242 of constitution read with SPSC Act 1989.

The applicants made it clear that it was no fault of theirs if the chairman or any other member lacked the requisite qualification or their appointments were questionable on any ground. The application further stated that government would not contest or defend the appointments of chairman and members and accordingly the chairman and 5 members would tender their resignation to the competent authority. “They want to contest the SMC on its own merits and they will not tender resignations from the office. They are ready to face the outcome of the judicial decision of the SMC,” the application stated.