LAHORE, May 8: The chairman of the Lahore Arts Council’s Board of Governors, Faqir Syed Ejazuddin, has reportedly tendered his resignation in view of the questioning of the legality of the board and one of his perks by a finance department officer.

The officer had represented his department in a meeting of the board on April 27. He had reportedly created a turmoil at the very outset by questioning the legality of the board through which the arts council was given an autonomous status besides objecting to the mobile telephone facility being availed by its chairman.

Sources said after the strong objections raised by the officer, the chairman had abruptly left the meeting while briefly thanking his colleagues on the board for extending cooperation during his tenure.

The officer had reportedly asked about any law under which, what he said, an autonomous body could be created by another autonomous institution (The Punjab Council of the Arts).

He also reportedly objected to the mobile telephone facility for the chairman, saying this was not allowed to any government officer and therefore “we cannot allow it in this case also.”

Sources said following the disruption of the meeting the board of governors had constituted a committee of its private members Sehar Saigol, Khalid Ghias and Samiur Rehman. The committee was asked to look into the legal matters of the council and submit report during the next meeting of the board.

“The chairman has now learnt to have submitted his resignation despite the fact that all the remaining members of the board had given him full support during the meeting and challenged the claim by the finance department officer,” sources said.

They said the objections of the officer had also led to the postponement of the meeting without taking decisions on its agenda.

The Lahore Arts Council was given autonomy in 2000 under, what official sources said, the regulations of the Punjab Council of the Arts Act 1975, which were framed in 1982. They said the rules provided for the creation of divisional arts councils and the Lahore Arts Council was one of them.

They said the Lahore Arts Council was an autonomous body from the day one and according to the new shape given to it in 2000 the chairman of its boards of governors had been allowed to be a private person instead of the Lahore division commissioner.