MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has initiated the implementation of legislation aimed at regularising the services of ad hoc, temporary, and contractual employees, a day after it was challenged in the AJK High Court.
On June 16, the AJK Legislative Assembly unanimously approved two bills to regularise over 4000 temporary, ad hoc, and contract employees, mostly of grades 1 to 15, in various public-sector departments.
However, a petition has been filed in the High Court against the ‘AJK Regularisation of Services of the Ad-hoc or Temporary Employees Act, 2026,’ on Friday. A single bench, comprising Justice Sardar Ejaz Khan, will hear the plea on July 6.
On the other hand, the Services and General Administration Department of the AJK government, on Saturday, issued a circular, directing all administrative secretaries, heads of departments, and relevant authorities to initiate the process of regularizing eligible ad hoc employees in accordance with the newly approved law, sources said.
The circular instructs all departments to complete the required legal and administrative formalities without delay and ensure implementation in line with the prescribed rules and regulations.
Last month, the law minister Mian Abdul Waheed tabled the AJK Regularisation of Services of Ad hoc or Temporary Employees (Basic Pay Scale-1) Ordinance, 2026, and the AJK Regularisation of Services of Ad hoc or Temporary Act, 2026. After suspending the relevant procedural rules, the House passed both measures without debate.
Speaking after the passage of the laws, the law minister said the issue had remained unresolved for years despite many employees having served for more than a decade under repeated extensions of their appointments.
Prime Minister Faisal Rathore congratulated the employees who have been regularised and also praised members of the parliamentary party for supporting the legislation.
He said the beneficiaries had not been appointed by his government, but that protecting their livelihoods was a matter of conscience, adding that his government had taken several measures for the welfare of the people and to solve the problems of employees.
