LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday declared appointment of Maryam Khawar as chief executive officer of Lahore Transport Company (LTC) illegal and in violation of principles of transparency.

A citizen had challenged the appointment of Mr Khawar through a public interest petition.

Petitioner’s counsel Sheraz Zaka argued that the appointment of the respondent was made without issuance of advertisement and in sheer violation of principles of merit and transparency.

He said the government also ignored Corporate Governance Rules 2015 of Security Exchange Commission. He alleged that the respondent was appointed on political consideration as she possessed no relevant experience even.

The counsel argued that the impugned appointment was also contrary to rules laid down by the Supreme Court for appointments in public sector organisations.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned appointment for being unlawful.

Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza had reserved verdict on the petition, which he announced on Tuesday in open court and declared the appointment of the LTC CEO illegal.

The judge also directed the government to make appointments in public sector organisations free from political influence.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2019