THE MAJORITY OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND OFFICES DO NOT KNOW LAWS EVEN RELATING TO THEIR OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.

          It is clear that now-a-days the hardships not only of the ordinary citizens are increasing with every passing day but also of the Government Servants especially those of lower grades. My twenty years service, experience and analysis has led me to the conclusion that in every Government department"”Federal or Provincial, there are two kinds of controlling officers, one who are much competent, knowing each and every intricacy of departmental procedures but are not willing to decide matters whether relating to the citizens or to their subordinates according to the prescribed rules due to their devilish mentality. They do everything for themselves when any Government wishes to bring any improvement in the salaries of the servants or give any other benefit to them or to the people. The other kind of officers are honest, hardworking and eager to do their duty well but they are unable to apply law on the facts because they do not know the details of departmental procedure and thus cause much harm to the lower graded subordinates due to their ignorance and lack of requisite knowledge for running the department. They become more tortuous at the time when they insist on the enforcement of their decisions contrary to rules. The aggrieved persons then have no other alternative but to start litigations not only in the Service Tribunal but also in the Supreme Court and thus huge amount of money and time is wasted for nothing. If these dishonest officers or incompetent officers decide a case of a citizen contrary to the law or rules, then he has no choice but to go to the Court of law to seek the remedy of the grievance. Thus, these dishonest and incompetent officers become a cause for litigations for both the citizens and Government Servants in the Courts of law and resultantly the Courts have been burdened with a huge number of cases, which run for decades. The situation becomes alarming when even the Courts decide cases against the rules on the pretext that the case was not properly pleaded.

          I have personally been a victim of such treatment of the departmental officers in the year 2000 when the officers stopped my annual increment and my departmental appeal was ignored. I instituted the case in the NWFP Service Tribunal where without any assistance from a lawyer, I presented my case before the Tribunal, got the relief, and thus defeated all the departmental officers who were not literate in law, including the Government Pleader.

          Recently, the Division Bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Mr. Justice Ijaz-ul-Hassan and Mr. Justice Mohammad Qaim Jan Khan dismissed the appeal of the Government against the judgment of the Service Tribunal N.W.F.P Peshawar. Actually, the Education Department had dismissed the three Arabic Teachers from District Dir without fulfilling the requirements of law before their dismissal. Now if the teachers had not knocked the door of Court, they did have never had their right in the shape of reinstatement in service. How many Government Servants are persecuted daily by these dishonest and incompetent officers. Actually, the people have fed up of these injustices and that is why extremism and terrorism is flourishing in the country. The Government is finding the solution with guns and bombs while the remedy is the free, fair and impartial justice in every department. Government is spending billions of rupees on the salaries of these officers and hundreds of them getting lavish facilities but the common man is in agony. Why?

          The situation is deteriorating day by day and each one in the Government Departments has become a dictator having no regard for the law or rules. To curb this trend and to protect the lower graded employees as well as the citizens of this Country from any more litigations in the Courts, I have a proposal to the Government of Pakistan as well as the four Provincial Governments which will help them in containing the propensity of illegalities in the Government Departments.

Proposal:

          The Federal and Provincial Governments should appoint one lawyer, having sufficient experience of Courts, in every Government Department at District Level. His responsibility should be to give advice to the head of the office before his any decision involving any question of law or any fact which is related to any legal issue. Their duty will be only to guide the head of the office in legal matter of the cases which may happen to be issues of litigations in the Courts. If any case is instituted against that Department or office, in the district, the law officer shall defend his office in that Court. In this way, the official decisions of the head office shall be according to the law. If the question is of such nature that the law officer does not understand or for which any further guidance is needed to him, he should refer the matter to the Law Department of the Government of the Province so that to get firm opinion on that issue. The main aim of the proposal is to protect the people in general and employees in particular from litigations in the Court. In this way, there will be no burden on the Courts in those cases which are related to the Government Departments. The Executive District Officers should be rendered duty bound to seek the advice of the law officer in such matters. Thus, the decisions of the officers shall be surely subservient to the law and still anyone considers himself a victim to the decision then he will be at liberty to seek his remedy in the proper Courts of law.

          Frankly speaking, it has an advantage to both the lawyers and the Government in current situation. Those lawyers who have no clients in the Courts shall get a reasonable and dignified job at District Level with sufficient monthly salary and to the Government in shape of the minimization of present intensity in the lawyers opposition by giving services to the lawyers in the Government Departments. The lawyers neither can topple the Government nor can change or resist any policy left by the Military leadership. The prudent way is to get benefit from the offer of the Government (if extended) like those Judges and lawyers who have services again to the much opposition of many people. Herds of lawyers every day come to the Courts in every district of the Country but only a few lawyers have the ability to attract the clients by dint of their knowledge, experience and devotion to their profession.

          Those lawyers who have earned enough wealth have no need of any client, they just come to the Courts for showing their prestige and wealth to the rest of the lawyers in the Bar Rooms and when such situations arise, as are in the Country, they get an opportunity for showing their personalities to the people in the streets for future role in the politics and thus uses the lawyers' platform for the politics.

          If the Government has failed in snatching the guns from the militants through agreements or bombardments, at least can convince the lawyers by giving them services in the Government Departments to diffuse this tension. The ultimate sufferer is that person in this crisis who has knocked the door of the Court for his right but face failure in reaching justice due to the every day strikes and agitations. He is victim of both the tyrants in the society and the lawyers in the Courts. He needs speedy justice which is available to him only in that case when there is peace. It has been accepted by everyone that Military Governments have only benefited their own military men"”serving or retired or those who are their yes-men but there is also no guarantee of this fact that this Country would become a paradise if every power were given in the hands of a person or a class of persons. LAWYERS SHOULD MAKE THEMSELVES ROLE MODEL FOR THE PEOPLE BEFORE STARTING ANY AGITATION.

Manzoor Ahmad Yousafzai

B.Sc; L.L.B. M.A. Political Science
Email: manzoorahmadjalalmallb@hotmail.com
Web:http://manzooryousafzai.multiply.com/