ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed Tuesday said that the political recruitments have derailed the department of Pakistan Railways.
The chief justice gave the dressing-down while hearing a case pertaining to the regularisation of the employees recruited in the department on an ad hoc basis.
The court suspended the decision of the service tribunal regarding the regularisation of 80 contractual employees and also admitted for hearing a petition of the department against them.
The counsel for the railways told the court that these employees had been recruited in 2013 in spite of not meeting the relevant policy.
Justice Ahamd said: “The temporary recruitments are made on a political basis. The railways is in dire straits due to the non-professional attitude of its employees. The department is rife with wrongdoings due to these political recruitments.”
Justice Ijazul Ahsan, a second member of the three-judge bench hearing the case, said the officers coming to the department by way of political recruitments frame policies based on political affiliations to regularise such employees.
“80 percent income of the railways is spent on salaries and pensions,” the judge said.
Justice Ahmed said the temporary employees draw their salaries in spite of not attending office. “The sorry state of affairs is behind the frequent train accidents,” he declared.
Justice Ahsan said there was no system in the railways as employees received their salaries and went home without doing their work.
“Still hundreds of people are being recruited by the PR on a temporary basis every month,” said the judge. At this, the counsel for railway intervened to inform the court that there was a ban on temporary recruitments.
Quick to respond, Justice Ahsan said the railway officials still found a way to new hirings. He said these political recruitments had destroyed the department.
