Nargis Sethi's appointment termed a violation

The Supreme Court on Thursday termed the recent appointment of Nargis Sethi as Secretary Aviation Division vice Muhammad Ali Gardezi a prima facie violation of the court verdict in the Anita Turab case which held that no officer would be transferred without assigning any reason.
A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed the hearing of irregularities in the construction of New Benazir Bhutto International Airport (NBBIA) Islamabad along with the appointment of Director General (CAA). The bench expressed annoyance over the transfer of Muhammad Ali Gardezi, who has been made Secretary Ministry of Inter-provincial Co-ordination Islamabad (IPC).
The bench directed Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Munir A Malik to file Federation's statement about the transfer of Secretary Civil Aviation Division in violation of court's judgement in the Anita Turab case. The Chief Justice said, "Prima facie the judgment has been violated - no one should undermine the judgements of the Supreme Court". During proceedings, the bench asked the AGP to tell to whom the contempt notice be issued in the instant case, to which the AGP sought some time to get instructions from the high-ups in that regard.
The proceedings of case were suspended for half an hour; after which the AGP appeared along with Additional Attorney General Shah Khawar, saying that they appreciate the judicial restraint shown by the court. The AGP said he had taken up the matter with the high ups and prayed to adjourn proceedings till Friday (today) with an assurance that the matter would be settled in accordance with law.
During the course of hearing, the bench noted that no compelling reason was cited in the summary cited the transfer of Muhammad Ali Gardezi, adding that it actually was not a summary sent to the Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif. The court said that Gardazi's name was not mentioned in a letter of Principal Secretary to PM Nasir Khosa, adding that Gardazi's name abruptly appeared and he was transferred as Secretary IPC. The Chief Justice observed that the Prime Minister should have probed this matter.
A member of the bench, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, remarked that the Secretary Establishment Division should have considered other officers, adding that among around 2500 BS-21 and 22 bureaucrats the government could not find anyone else except Gardezi as an appropriate candidate for the slot of Secretary IPC. The Chief Justice observed that the transfer of Gardezi was carried out following his letter to Prime Minister that Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) should be directed to investigate irregularities in the construction of the NBBIA.
The bench observed that Gardezi wrote two letters - one on August 18 and the other on September 10, 2013 - after which he was transferred to Ministry of IPC without recording any compelling reason as per the Anita Turab judgement. The AGP submitted that the transfer was made in the public interest and ensured the court that the government had no intention to violate court's judgements.
The bench said in its short order though the government had decided to refer the NBBIA scam to FIA but at the same time it had not identified the persons against whom an action should be taken. The court accepted the request of the AGP for more time before it adjourned hearing of the case till today (Friday).