June 15, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 10, 1429

MUZAFFARABAD, June 14: After the exit of serving military officials from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Ehtesab Bureau in April this year under a historic decision of the army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the access of the retired generals to the body’s commanding position ‘chairman’ was also blocked by the state government through an amendment in the relevant act.

According to the AJK Ehtesab Bureau (3rd Amendment) Ordinance, 2008, promulgated recently, a retired officer of the armed forces of Pakistan equivalent to the rank of major general was no longer qualified to be appointed as chairman of the bureau.

In pursuance of the ordinance, the law department had issued a notification stating that the (AJK) President had relieved Maj- Gen (retired) Tariq Bashir of his office forthwith after he had ceased to qualify as chairman of Ehtesab Bureau.

Mr Bashir was appointed as chairman in January last year for a three-year contractual term, succeeding Maj-Gen (retired) Sarfraz Iqbal who had replaced Justice Basharat Ahmed Shaikh, a retired judge of the AJK Supreme Court.

Initially, appointment of the chairman was made by the president in consultation with the chairman AJK council (prime minister of Pakistan). However, through an amendment in section 6, the role of the AJK council had been abolished.

According to the amended section, the president shall appoint a person as chairman who he is or has been or is qualified to be appointed as judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court; or is or has been a civil servant of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in BPS-21 or above on such terms and conditions as may be determined by him (president).

Similarly, a provision allowing the appointment of a serving officer of Pakistan army, equivalent to the rank of brigadier, was also abolished in the amended ordinance. This position was held by the serving brigadier ever since the establishment of the bureau in 2001.

However, it had been vacant since April 15 when the last incumbent Brigadier Baber Amin along with four other serving army officers and nearly a dozen junior-commissioned and non-commissioned officials quit the bureau in compliance with Gen Kayani’s decision to pull out the army personnel from civilian institutions.

According to the amended ordinance, a person who is eligible to be appointed as judge High Court; or is or has been civil servant of AJK in BPS-20 or above shall be appointed as deputy chairman by the President on such terms and conditions as may be determined by him.

Constitutional experts however pointed out that in effect the authority to appoint the chairman and deputy chairman vested in the (AJK) prime minister if section 6 of Ehtesab Bureau Ordinance was read against the backdrop of section 7 of the AJK’s interim constitution.

Section 7 of the constitution reads: “Subject to an expressed provision to the contrary in this act (interim constitution) in the performance of his functions the president shall act on and in accordance with the advice of the prime minister and such advice shall be binding on him.”

According to an Ehtesab Bureau official, after the exit of the chairman the only ex-serviceman in the bureau was Brigadier (retired) Salim, serving as director (legal).

Sources disclosed that the reason behind immediate and unceremonious ouster of Mr Bashir was his alleged supercilious attitude towards the AJK government functionaries. “He had not accepted subordination of the AJK government and would not follow the official rules and norms for tours, vacations and other issues,” a senior official source told Dawn, adding, around four months ago the retired general had even refused to take up the phone call of a top public office holder.

Apart from that, the source claimed that the Murree based military authorities which still wielded influence in the AJK affairs were also unhappy with the former Ehtesab Bureau chairman.