ISLAMABAD – A two-member Supreme Court bench on Friday accepted for regular hearing a joint petition filed by some female assistant sub inspectors (ASIs) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) seeking promotions like their male colleagues. The bench comprising Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Ghulam Rabbani observed that discrimination on the basis of gender was not permissible and a violation of the articles 22, 25 and 38 of the constitution.
The petition was filed by nine females out of the 130 ASIs, who were deprived of promotion into next grade. They were recruited by the agency in different phases from 2002 to 2007. Hafiz SA Rehman, counsel for the petitioners, argued that his clients were discriminated as only male ASIs were promoted. The women had the same capabilities as of men and were serving in army, flying aeroplanes, performing duties in police and playing leading roles in almost all fields, he added. He contended that there was only one list of the officers, containing both male and female, but the FIA high-ups separated them three years ago on the basis of which only male ASIs, recruited in 2008, were promoted. T
he court asked Director (Legal) FIA Azam Khan, “Why you didn’t treat ladies in your department at par with the male officers?” adding that when the female officials were in the same cadre as that of their male colleagues, what was the problem in their (females) promotion. Azam said the government had sanctioned these posts only for the female ASIs in Immigration Department in order to keep them in the mainstream, adding that there was no gender based discrimination in the FIA.
