ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued an interim order regarding the appointment of members in Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue, Pakistan (ATIR) stating that all appointments will be subject to the final outcome of a writ petition challenging these appointments.
According to lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt, who explained the petition moved before the IHC, the court’s decision ensures that the appointments are made contingent upon the petition’s outcome. This development has significant implications for the ATIR’s composition and functioning, pending the court’s final decision on the matter.
Earlier IHC has issued notices to secretary Ministry of Law and Justice, chairman FPSC and Attorney General for Pakistan on a constitutional petition challenging the appointment process of members in ATIR. The petition challenges the unadvertised process of “head hunting” used for the appointment of members and lack of transparency. It alleges that the appointment process lacked transparency and did not follow the established rules and procedures.
Waheed Butt further added that earlier in another petition by the same petitioner, the IHC has issued an interim order restraining the Law Ministry from making final appointments of Members of the ATIR. The order was passed in response to a petition challenging the invitation for written tests for these positions, scheduled at NUST Islamabad. An Abbottabad-KPK based lawyer, Mudassir Malik, has raised concerns regarding the legality and transparency of the recruitment process. The IHC, while acknowledging the significance of the matter, issued the restraining order.
IHC order states “office is directed to issue notice to the newly impleaded respondents i.e. respondents no. 3 to 11, upon receipt of the amended memo. Learned Additional AG sought time to file reply/comments. Allowed to do so within seven days with an advance copy to the petitioner’s counsel.
As per petition (1053 of 2025), the newly impleaded respondents included barrister Zahoor Ahmed, Muhammad Naeem Ashraf, Danish Ali Qazi, Zahid Sikander, shafqat Ali, Nasir Mahmud, Syed Mahmood ul Hassan, Barrister Dr Huma Sodher, Emad-ul-Hassan, while further proceedings in the case will clarify the legitimacy of the recruitment mechanism and its compliance with applicable laws, petitioner added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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