LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Saturday fixed a petition for hearing on August 10 challenging appointments of unelected advisers and special assistants to the Prime Minister.
Chief Justice (CJ) during last hearing had asked petitioner-lawyer Nadeem Sarwar to annex the copies of appointment letters of advisers and special assistants. CJ had also asked a deputy attorney general to submit his arguments on next hearing to be fixed by the office.
The petitioner made Prime Minister Imran Khan, Zulfi Bukhari, Shahzad Akbar, Babar Awan Nadeem Afzal, Shahbaz Gill, Zafar Mirza, Ali Nawaz Awan, Dr Moeed Yusuf, and Usman Dar as respondents in the petition.
The petitioner contended in his petition that Prime minister Imran Khan had appointed 16 un-elected persons as advisers and special assistances in violation of constitutional scheme. He said adviser on Finance to the PM Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is not an MNA or a senator yet he is heading the Ministry of Finance. "Under Article 92 of the Constitution, only an MNA can perform duties as a federal minister on the prime minister's recommendation," the petitioner said. He said article 90(1) explains that affairs of the federal government could not be run by the non-elected persons.
The petitioner prayed to the court to restraint PM Imran Khan and his unelected cabinet members from performing their duties till the final disposal of the instant petition. The petitioner also asked the court to declare as illegal appointments of special assistants to the Prime Minister.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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