ISLAMABAD: Despite two separate judgments of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the government still seems reluctant to withdraw its direct appointees on key positions in more than two dozen public-sector organisations.

“Nearly all the direct appointees are still working on their positions, contrary to the orders of the high court,” a senior government official told Dawn.

The government had announced that they would challenge the IHC verdicts in the Supreme Court to protect their preferred appointees, but so far, no petition has been presented at the apex court in this regard.

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Only one direct appointee, Pakistan Television (PTV) Managing Director Muhammad Malik, has managed to get relief from the Supreme Court after he was removed from his position by the high court.

The government issued a notification on January 13 of this year, making direct appointments in 23 key departments, exempting them from an earlier Establishment Division order that required appointments in public sector organisations to be made in accordance with the SC decision in the Khawaja Asif case.

Former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, in his verdict in the Haj corruption case of 2012, had also taken a firm stance against the reappointment of government officers who had reached the age of superannuation.

Then, prior to last year’s general elections, current defence minister Khawaja Asif challenged certain direct appointments on key positions.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had, on April 18, suspended the January 13 notification which empowered the government to make appointments in accordance with the whims of politicians, dodging the directives of the top court.

The establishment division issued the notification despite the apex court’s orders to constitute a commission to manage appointments in statutory, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies as well as regulatory bodies and government-controlled corporations.

The commission, headed by former federal secretary Rauf Chaudry, has now been formed but is practically doing nothing.

The government challenged the IHC order in April, but the high court disposed of the petition in May, echoing the judgement that all such appointments were ‘illegal’ and against service rules. On this the government decided that it would challenge the IHC verdict in the Supreme Court.

However, until the Supreme Court gives a decision on the issue, all such appointments are to be considered illegal.

Information Minister Pervez Rashid told Dawn that he was not aware about the government’s plan of action on the issue of direct appointments. He said, however, that the government would follow the wishes of the court. “If there is a decision declaring all these appointments illegal, we will act upon the order accordingly,” he said.

The minister assumed that there must be some provision in the court’s decision whereby directly appointed officials were still working on the same positions.

Under the January notification, issued with the approval of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, direct appointments were made to key positions in the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, Trade Development Authority, State Life Insurance Corporation, Competition Commission of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Evacuee Trust Property Board, Engineering Development Board, Pakistan Industrial Technical Assistance Centre, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, State Cement Corporation, National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), Lok Virsa, National Telecommunication Commission, Telecom Foundation, Pakistan Baitul Mal, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and the Alternative Energy Development Board.

A month before the January 13 notification was issued, the government sacked chairmen of key organisations; Tariq Malik from Nadra and Chaudhry Rashid Ahmed from Pemra, the electronic media regulator.

IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on April 18, while hearing the petition filed by Barrister Dawood Ghazanavi held that “the impugned notification of January 13, 2014 shall remain suspended”.

The petition filed by Mr Ghazanavi alleged that the federal government had tried to dodge the directives of the Supreme Court for making appointments at the top slot of public sector organisations by excluding the above said companies. He said that the appointments of the ‘blue-eyed’ had already caused huge losses to the exchequer.

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd , 2014