ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Thursday it took a lot of pride in merit-based appointments after some of its employees challenged recent placements of officials in Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad in the Islamabad High Court.
The court on Wednesday issued a notice to the foreign secretary while dealing with the petition that claimed that the appointments were made on the basis of nepotism.
The counsel of petitioners, Barrister Zafarullah Khan, took a stance that this year’s appointments were made in contravention to the 2015 policy, adding that these placements were made without informing the interview panel.
Responding to the development, the foreign office spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, said: “The foreign office takes lot of pride in meritocracy and as an organization we believe in merit.”
“The main objective of the 2015 policy was also to enhance the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness in order to achieve our foreign policy objectives by making optimal utilization of the available resources,” he said while pointing out that the petition was now in the high court and everyone would be able to see its outcome.
A high-level committee approved a policy in 2015 that entailed an interview process to evaluate the professional skills of officials before their appointments in countries with significant diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
The country’s former ambassador, Abdul Basit, also endorsed the stance of the petitioners by pointing out: “The approved policy is violated in most of the appointments and these officers have shown courage by taking the matter to the court.”
“This is going on for years,” he added. “The system is there, but it is not always followed which compromises performance.”
