ISLAMABAD:
A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has withdrawn its stay order on recruitment under the quota system in police, health and other institutions.
The court directed authorities to proceed with recruitment in Islamabad police and other departments according to the previous quota system.
The three-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar heard a petition seeking the abolition of quota-based recruitment in Islamabad Police and other institutions.
Advocate General Islamabad Shaukat Ayaz, Federal Police Director Law Tahir Kazim and DSP Legal Sajid Cheema appeared before the court.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that a resident of Islamabad does not have the right to be recruited into Punjab Police, yet recruitment in Islamabad includes candidates from other provinces.
The chief justice remarked that when the federal capital was established, people from across the country came and settled there. He added that recruitment had remained suspended since 2024 and people had not been getting jobs.
He asked whether people from other regions should not have the right to employment and said Islamabad was not a province like others. The Advocate General Islamabad cited various court rulings and said that abolishing the quota system would affect people from all four provinces.
