The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ordered a halt on the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) high-powered selection board meeting for promotions from Grade 21 to 22, following a petition by Shahzadi Shahbanu, the senior-most civil servant in the 16th Common Group (Customs, now FBR).
According to media reports, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, while issuing the directive, expressed dissatisfaction with the FBR’s response to the court, stating that it failed to adequately address key questions.
The court also rejected FBR’s argument that the admin pool practice has been followed for years, stating that an illegal practice does not become legal simply due to long-standing implementation.
The court noted that placing the petitioner in the admin pool, which is effectively equivalent to an officer on special duty (OSD), appeared to allow for undue interference by the prime minister in FBR promotions—a practice that contradicts legal procedures.
The court further observed that the Supreme Court has previously deemed such placements unlawful.
In its interim order, the court suspended the selection board’s meeting until the next hearing on March 12. It directed the FBR chairman to submit an affidavit confirming whether a summary was moved to the Prime Minister’s Office regarding Shahbanu’s placement in the admin pool.
Additionally, the Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office was instructed to submit an affidavit confirming whether such a summary was received and whether any record of it exists. If the affidavits are not provided, the summary itself must be submitted before the next hearing.
In her petition, Shahbanu argued that she was being discriminated against and unfairly sidelined to block her promotion prospects. She stated that being placed as OSD for eight months has severely impacted her career, undermining her right to be considered for Grade-22 promotion.
Additionally, the petitioner requested that her promotion evaluation be based on her record before being placed as OSD and urged the court to strike down the Esta Code provision that grants the prime minister discretionary powers in selecting candidates for promotions, deeming it unconstitutional.
