The Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended on Thursday an earlier order to remove Major General (Retd) Hafeezur Rehman from his post as Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman.
A division bench, comprising Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Muhammad Asif, heard Hafeezur Rehman’s Intra Court Appeal (ICA) against the order passed by Justice Babar Sattar.
The judgment, passed by Justice Babar on September 16, said as the entire process of appointment of Respondent No. 4 (Maj-Gen (Retd) Hafeezur Rehman, as Member (Administration) and as PTA chairman had been found to suffer from malice in law being the product of an unconstitutional and illegal recruitment process, he shall cease to hold such appointments and shall immediately relinquish charge for such offices.
The court had directed that the senior-most serving member PTA would temporarily assume the charge of the office of Chairman PTA, till such time that the federal government appointed a regular chairman in accordance with the requirements of Section 3 of the Telecom Act, read with provisions of the PTA Appointment Rules.
The federal government was asked to amend the PTA Appointment Rules to lay down the qualifications, criteria and process for appointment of PTA chairman, in accordance with the principles enumerated in Muhammad Yasin, Muhammad Ashraf Tiwana and Barrister Sardar Muhammad Ali.
Justice Babar Sattar’s order
A single bench of Justice Babar Sattar on Tuesday announced his reserved verdict in a petition filed by Usama Khilji through advocate Asad Ladha. It ordered the removal of Major General Hafeezur Rehman (retd) from his post of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) chairman.
The petitioner had impugned an advertisement dated 29.03.2023 announcing a vacancy for the office of Member (Administration) in PTA and inviting applications from candidates who satisfied the qualification, experience, and age criteria mentioned in the impugned advertisement.
The petitioner further sought a declaration that the post of Member (Administration) was in contravention of provisions of the Pakistan Telecommunication Re-Organisation Act, 1996, and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s Chairman and Member (Appointment and Qualifications) Rules, 2013.
Justice Sattar, in a 99-page judgment, stated the appointment of the PTA chairman was not legally valid, adding that a senior member of the PTA should be appointed as the chairman temporarily.
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