IHC Halts Community Welfare Attaché Hiring

The Islamabad High Court has temporarily halted the finalization of appointments for Community Welfare Attachés, instructing the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development to provide the full official record of the selection process. Justice Ayyaz Shaukat made the ruling during a hearing for a petition filed by Raza Hassan, a BS-19 officer in the Secretariat Group who serves as deputy secretary in the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination.

Hassan claimed he was unfairly excluded from the interview stage for the CWA-2026 position, despite passing the written examination administered by IBA Karachi. His legal team argued that the ministry had violated the updated policy guidelines for foreign appointments and postings in Pakistan missions abroad. They pointed out that the petitioner never received any notification, hearing, or explanation for his exclusion, and that this action contravened constitutional rights to equality and fair treatment.

Following the arguments, the court ordered the ministry, the Establishment Division, and the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to submit paragraph-specific comments by September 24, 2026. Additionally, the court required the respondents to submit the complete selection record, encompassing all candidates who qualified for the written test and those who were invited for interviews.