ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that appointments made by the caretaker government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between January 2023 and February 2024 were unlawful, while upholding the legal framework used to terminate those services.
The verdict was issued in response to petitions filed by employees of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government who challenged the cancellation of their appointments. The court dismissed all petitions filed by the affected Grade-4 employees.
In its ruling, the FCC emphasized that a caretaker administration is responsible only for handling routine state affairs and cannot make long-term policy decisions. The court stated that a caretaker government cannot be placed on the same footing as an elected government in terms of authority and decision-making powers.
According to the judgment, any major decision taken by a caretaker setup remains subject to the approval of the Election Commission of Pakistan. The court observed that providing government employment constitutes a permanent administrative decision rather than a temporary measure.
Consequently, the FCC declared that appointments made during the caretaker government’s tenure from January 2023 to February 2024 were illegal. The court further held that notices issued for the termination of those employees were lawful and did not violate legal requirements.
The judgment noted that although some individuals were adversely affected by the decision, this did not mean they had been deprived of their fundamental rights. The court maintained that the dismissals were carried out under a legally valid framework.
As a result, all petitions challenging the terminations were rejected.
The case relates to appointments made during the caretaker administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before the general elections. Following the elections, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government had regularized and retained employees who were recruited during the caretaker period.
The ruling is expected to have significant implications for public-sector employment decisions taken by caretaker governments and may influence future interpretations of the constitutional limits on interim administrations.
