ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Islamabad High Court has issued an interim stay order temporarily halting the Anti-Narcotics Force’s (ANF) latest recruitment drive, pending a final decision on a legal petition filed by a serving individual over frozen departmental promotions.
The written order was delivered by Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, as per a miscellaneous petition filed by Constable Muhammad Shafiq Khan, to put a hold on the recruitment process until the main hearing on August 22, 2026.
The legal case revolves around conflicting claims about career development and quota allocation. The petitioner, who has worked for ten years and stands 232nd out of 665 constables on the seniority list, claims that starting new direct recruitment processes will significantly hinder chances of advancement for the existing employees.
In the petition filed against the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Director General of the ANF, he asked the court to stop direct recruitment until a Departmental Development Committee assesses the eligible serving employees.
The petitioner further demanded setting up a promotion board and policy review for officers seconded from other agencies according to the Appointment, Promotion and Transfer Rules of 2010.
Anti Narcotics Force has firmly denied the claims raised by the petitioner
On the other hand, sources at the Anti-Narcotics Force have firmly denied the claims raised by the petitioner as they have considered them to be premature, inaccurate and an effort to sabotage merit recruitment.
The official records have made it clear that the available positions fall strictly within the scope of direct-entry recruitment quotas according to the federal recruitment rules and do not interfere with any post set aside for departmental promotions.
In addition, the agency has pointed out that the process of promoting candidates is currently ongoing, referring to three sessions of the Departmental Development Committee held in September 2024, January 2025, and January 2026, with another one ongoing prior to the current recruitment process.
Moreover, the facts unveiled through the investigative report carried out by Azad Digital have added more tension to the case, suggesting that Constable Shafiq himself had been disciplined back in 2025 because of the denial of his salary increment of one year as a result of absenteeism and presenting fake medical reports.
At the moment, the ANF is working on filing an application to request the High Court to lift the stay order before time.
