ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court has disposed of out-of-turn promotion in Punjab and Balochistan police case with a direction that promotion should be ensured on merit in future.
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Main Shakirullah Jan, heard different applications of superintendents of police and other officers against shoulder promotions, which deprived them of their legitimate rights of promotions. During the course of hearing in the case, the court was informed that out-of-turn promotion in both the provinces had been abolished. Upon this, the court disposed of the cases related to Punjab and Balochistan police and observed that if anyone had objection, he could approach the forum concerned including Federal Service Tribunal in future. Expressing concern, Justice Amir Hani Muslim pointed out that out-of-turn promotion in Sindh untrained officers of other departments were deputed in police as SSPs.
 He said High Court had ordered to remove them from police but the provincial government was not implementing the court’s order. Later, the court also adjourned the case of out-of-turn promotion in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for indefinite period.
Earlier, the court had ordered the demotion of 879 police officers in the Sindh Province who had been promoted through shoulder promotions and without merit and directed the Sindh Police to restore the officers to their original postings within a week.