October 23, 2006	Monday	Ramazan 29, 1427

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LAHORE, Oct 22: The Punjab government on Sunday decided to withdraw the intra-court appeal against the Lahore High Court decision declaring unconstitutional the provincial government advisors’ appointment, which sources said had been filed without authorisation.

The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi here on Saturday.

An official announcement said the government would not file an intra-court appeal against the LHC decision. However, a senior official said the government would not challenge the verdict at any forum.

According to sources, the Punjab advocate-general had filed the appeal without seeking permission from the government which took a decision to the contrary on Sunday. The advocate-general was a government official and could not take decisions independently, they said.

They said the meeting felt that it was of no use to contest the case, and decided instead to follow the court ruling.

A notification for removing all the government advisors and withdrawing their perks would be issued soon after Eidul Fitr, they said clarifying that a certified copy of the court decision had not as yet been received by the government.

The number of the special assistants and advisors to the chief minister would also be adjusted as per the court ruling and the relevant law soon after Eid, they said.