Appointments of 15 special assistants to PM: Federation seeks time to submit reply to IHC

The federation on Monday sought time from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to submit reply in a writ petition challenging the appointments of fifteen special assistants to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A division bench of IHC comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Lubna Salim Pervez conducted hearing of the petition and granted time to the federation to submit its reply by accepting its plea. The IHC bench also re-issued notices to the respondents and directed them to submit their replies in this connection with a fortnight.

Petitioner Farrukh Nawaz Bhatti filed the petition through his counsel GM Chaudhry Advocate and cited Prime Minister and fifteen special assistants including Naeemul Haq, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Nadeem Afzal, Ali Nawaz Awan, Zulfi Bukhari, Shahzad Akbar, Dr Moeed Yusuf, Usman Dar and others as respondents.

In the petition, Bhatti sought declaration of sub-rule (6) of Rule 4 of the Rules of Business, 1973, as ultra vires to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, illegal and the appointments of the Respondent No. 3 to 18 in exercise of the said Rule as unconstitutional, illegal, a burden on debt-trapped national economy, having unconstitutional, ultra vires and illegal status as the federal ministers and ministers of the state, as the case may be, misuse of public office and discretion only to accommodate friends and cronies on public expense without having specialization in the relevant fields to be known or said as special assistants to the PM (SAPM), a few having dual nationalities and being as such not entitled to hold offices or status as the federal minister or the minister of the state.

"All such appointments are liable to be set aside ab initio from their dates of appointment with a further direction to declare the actions, decisions or exercise of any power under any law as well as receipt of any financial benefit including their salaries, allowances, perks, privileges, etc, as illegal, void ab-initio, coram non judice and illegal gain, and direct for recovery of such salaries, allowances, perks, privileges, etc, from the respondents No. 3 to 18," added the petition. It further said that as far as their competence and expertise in their respective areas allocated to them is questionable as there is no any noteworthy and substantial contribution of them towards the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its governance system except they had enjoyed the friendly relations or managed their appointments by using undue influence and receiving hefty salaries, allowances, perks and privileges.