The Islamic High Court has suspended crucial Hajj postings until January 11 and has issued notices to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and other interested parties for that date.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted a stay order and issued an injunction to freeze the process of appointing the Hajj DG. This decision will remain in effect until the next hearing, which is scheduled to take place on January 11.
Saima Saba, a Grade 20 officer, had submitted her application in order to be considered for the position of DG Hajj.
Earlier, a single bench of the IHC consisting of Justice Babar Sattar had rejected Saima’s petition and said that it was inadmissible. The applicant said in her appeal that she was one of the two candidates out of the total of 48 who had passed the test for the aforementioned post. She added that she had gained 71 out of a possible 100 points on the examination.
Saima continued to insist that she had a “really good interview” and that she answered every question “right” after the event.
The applicant stated that she was informed that she did not qualify for the position, and that she was “disqualified due to her gender.”
She argued that halting the appointment process on the basis of gender was a “violation of the rights as mentioned in the Constitution,” and therefore the court should hear the recording of her interview and declare the decision of the single bench to be null and void. She made her request to the court in the form of a request to hear the recording of her interview.
After some time had passed, a division bench of the IHC presided over by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq issued directives to the Ministry of Religious Affairs instructing them to halt the process of appointing the DG Hajj.
The court sent out notices for the 11th of January to the minister of religious affairs and to other parties.
